Cairn Ridge - Taylor Mountain, Santa Rosa, CA                                                                                                               unknown cairn builder
Cairn Ridge - Taylor Mountain, Santa Rosa, CA unknown cairn builder

Cairn - a man made pile of stones

"Take nothing but pics, leave nothing but cairns"

I love cairns

Long before I knew what a cairn was, I was building them.  Growing up in rural Georgia, I used to spend hours “exploring”  the woods around our house.  There  weren’t trails to follow, so I learned quickly how to mark my way so as to get back to a favorite spot.  Rock piles just made sense.  I don’t remember at what point I became aware that these little trail markers had a name or a history.  I just always thought it was fun to leave a little pile of rocks whenever I went hiking or traveling.

 

 

 

To cairn or not to cairn, that is the question

 

Whether it is nobler to trek anonymously through the world, or to linger in a favorite place and leave a welcoming acknowledgement to a fellow traveler,

ay, that is the rub.