Cairn making is a surprisingly meditative activity that can bring you closer to the earth and your community. You can make a traditional rock pile or a creative stack to help you additional hints focus on balance, permanence and harmony.
Throughout the history of mankind, cairns have served many different purposes. They were used to mark a route or indicate a food source. Cairns are also used as burial sites by Native Americans in North America. This practice is known as inukshuk.
The word cairn derives from a Gaelic word that means “heaps or heaps of stones”. It is usually built as a hill. The size of these man-made hills can vary from small rock carvings to large, man-made hills. Some of them are similar to kistvaens (ephemeral earthworks) and dolmens (ephemeral stoneworks).
Cairns have many uses, especially for hikers. They can be used to guide hikers back to the trailhead after a tough day of hiking, or to aid them in finding their way in remote areas of wilderness.
A well-placed Cairn can help save lives, and guide a hiker group that is lost or having trouble finding their trail. Some people, however, argue that cairns don’t belong in nature and violate the Leave No Trace principle.