Hikers who cairn too much

I got a lot of feedback from a recent blog post on my website about trailwork to Lake Margaret. Lots of people wondering why we are taking down cairns. It's pretty simple: they're unnecessary. And part of Leave No Trace is to ...you know...Leave No Trace. I knocked down more than 130 cairns in 4 miles on this trail. I left three.

So here's my summary of cairn policy.

Should you ever put up a cairn? Before you do, ask yourself this question: Am I lost? If you are lost, don't put up a cairn. It will just confuse anyone who follows you. If you are not lost, then you don't need to put up a cairn. You found your way just fine. Please allow other hikers to do the same.


If you can see where the trail goes, don't put up a cairn.

If you can see the trail behind you, don't put up a cairn.

If you can see a log cut for the trail, don't put up a cairn.

If you can see a blaze on a tree, don't put up a cairn.

If you can see a strip of plastic ribbon, don't put up a cairn.

If you can see footprints in the dirt or sand, don't put up a cairn.

If you can see a path through the grass, don't put up a cairn.

If you can see branches outlining the trail, Don't put up a cairn.

If you can a cairn ahead or behind you, don't put up a cairn.

If it's obvious where the trail goes, don't put up a cairn.

If you are moved to create artwork with natural materials, do it in your garden at home. Don't put up a cairn.

And if you do put up a cairn to help you find you way back....take it down on your way back.

When in doubt, don't put up a cairn.

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Changing topics slightly (but only slightly), I saw a photo someone posted (elsewhere) of mushrooms and berries the person had picked somewhere in the Sierra Nevada mountains. I have not checked the regs on this, but it seems to me that if that stuff was in a Wilderness Area, then doing so was illegal. And regardless, doing so would violate the idea of LNT (as in, "leave what you find", as stated as one of the LNT principles on the NPS web site). Am I correct about this being illegal in wilderness areas, and about violating LNT regardless?

To follow up on "The Geezer's" post, I always leave berries, etc alone. That's food for wild animals, like bears. I'd rather a bear eat the wild food instead of human food, or worse, me 😀

Hand picking berries for non-commercial purposes is permitted in almost every National Park - as is fishing. However, the harvesting of rare, threatened or endangered plants is illegal.

Collecting mushrooms is legal in the national forest. Same with berries. And with a permit, firewood. It is legal to hunt in wilderness areas. National forests are run to a different metric than national parks, where collecting anything at all is forbidden.

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Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

balzaccom,
Thanks for the post regarding cairns. It needed to be said.

When I have been unable to see where the trail goes, especially on granite fields, I have found cairns very helpful.

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LRK
When I have been unable to see where the trail goes, especially on granite fields, I have found cairns very helpful.

I think the idea is that there should already be more than enough cairns placed by trail maintenance crews.