How do painted cairns impact
In the world of hiking and outdoor recreation, the cairn has been a longtime symbol of success, achievement and journey. Many cairns serve as burial sites and memorials, while others signal the peak of a mountain or a safe route through difficult terrain. The rock stacks also offer a way for hikers to stop and reflect on their personal journey. The beauty and utility of these landmarks has led some people to take it upon themselves to make their own cairns — a seemingly harmless activity that can actually have some negative consequences for the surrounding landscape.
In addition to their aesthetic value, rock cairns provide shelter for insects and animals that may have made homes under them. But when people move rocks around to build a cairn, they not only disrupt these ecosystems but may also cause erosion and potentially send sediment into rivers, streams and lakes where it can harm wildlife, impede flow and negatively affect water quality.
Cairn-making for no other reason than to look cool on Instagram or in a TikTok video is also dangerous because it could mislead other park visitors. Officials at some national parks have even banned the practice of building painting cairns in the backcountry, as it can lead to trail confusion and misguide hikers.
How do painted cairns impact the surrounding landscape?
When it comes to building cairns, most experts say to only do so if you are a trained rock-stacking expert. But that hasn’t stopped a few dedicated individuals from creating their own, either on their own or as part of a community. But as these structures continue to pop up across the country and beyond, some have begun to question their purpose. And with good reason.
Generally, cairns should only be built by trained professionals who are working on trails or marking land features. But with a little guidance from some popular YouTube videos, people are taking it upon themselves to build their own cairns, often in sensitive places like creek beds and national parks. While this practice may seem fun and harmless, it can cause serious damage to the environment. It can disturb the natural habitats of plants, animals and aquatic macroinvertebrates and create erosion that can hurt the environment and impede the survival of endangered species.
In addition to posing threats to the environment, stacked rock cairns can cause serious problems for hikers. They can confuse the trail and lead hikers off the actual path, or they can be mistaken for official trail markers. This is particularly a problem in areas where cairns have been built by park rangers and other volunteers to mark trails.
While it might be tempting to add your own cairn to the landscape, please remember that there are already plenty of beautiful and meaningful ones out there. Leave the stacks of stones alone and let the cairns that have been carefully built by professionals remain undisturbed. And if you must build one, consider using paint to keep it from looking out of place.