Edward Abbey Approved?

Destroying Cairns

  • No

    Votes: 11 18.3%
  • Yep

    Votes: 25 41.7%
  • Only one's that aren't built by USFS and I can tell the difference

    Votes: 8 13.3%
  • What are we talking about?

    Votes: 3 5.0%
  • Who cares bro...

    Votes: 13 21.7%

  • Total voters
    60
I must admit I chose "who cares bro". I've seen a few over my 50+ years of hunting, fishing and hiking. I couldn't even tell where one of them was.
Did I turn around and leave the area because it ruined my day? Heck no! I don't and wouldn't build any but I really don't care.
I do care about all the yahoos ruining the countryside with those darn atv's though. :(
 
I am curious why the forest service uses them. Anyone know? GPS Is probably 2nd to only water for Wilderness forest service employees.
Back some 25 years or so when I worked with the forest service we did not have GPS units. And I sure as heck know we never built any cairns. In fact, we tore down many human created settings in the wilderness.
 


USFS defines the big ones they build for navigation as cairns, the small ones (couple of stones) as rock ducks and say the later should be scattered at every opportunity.
 
There's a goat herd on quandary... provided a huge portion of CO goat hunting opportunity.

18,000+ people climbed that peak in 2017 according to the summit daily, I imagine more last year.

I could care less about a 50-100 hunters... 18,000 hikers, you could destroy a lot of habitat in a hurry if you don't keep them on the trail.
That's funny, I was a hiker in 2007 up that peak, with my kids, planned the hike from the UK, I make no apology for walking (not climbing although I felt like it at one point!) up there and seeing the goats, July 8th one day after my birthday, and it snowed, my kids still talk about that walk, we didn't build any cairns though!:ROFLMAO:
Cheers
Richard
 
Yeah Utah; Moab, Arches, Canyonlands, Capital Reef, goblin Valley... great examples of cairns way out of hand.
I definitely see how it could be an issue in high use areas or if random people were building giant ones like in mtelkhuntres’s photo.
But if someone adds a couple rock ducks to a difficult to navigate stretch of established trail or maybe marks their meat hauling route then forgets to knock them down I don’t think it would bother me.
I think left behind orange flagging is more offensive than forgotten cairns personally.
 
i'm not sure what i think of destroying cairns that you don't know whether they were built by the forest service or not

my gut reaction is that travis has a superiority complex and the post feels douchey. so i agree wllm, in that it doesn't further our cause as hunters

I'm definitely not trying to rally the pitchfolks on anyone here, just kinda curious about the situation.

That said, part of me wants to ask the guy how many wrappers, balloons, bottles, and cans he has in his pack from the trail.
 
That said, part of me wants to ask the guy how many wrappers, balloons, bottles, and cans he has in his pack from the trail.
Colorado must be a real cluster fk to have that level of garbage in a wilderness backcountry location to Q a guy who knocked down what appears to be human created cairns on a well established trail.

I may find an occasional gum wrapper in the Bob or Cabinets where I romp around... usually along the main horse arteries in / out of the Wilderness.
 
I'm definitely not trying to rally the pitchfolks on anyone here, just kinda curious about the situation.

That said, part of me wants to ask the guy how many wrappers, balloons, bottles, and cans he has in his pack from the trail.
no crap. Everyone should have a balloon or two in their pack. They're everywhere I've ever been. No matter how remote.
 
I'm definitely not trying to rally the pitchfolks on anyone here, just kinda curious about the situation.

That said, part of me wants to ask the guy how many wrappers, balloons, bottles, and cans he has in his pack from the trail.

im not hoping to rally the pitchforks either. I just see a post that comes off as douchey.

if I’m a man of generally conservative ideology, who likes guns and shooting animals, but also loves picking up trash, shopping at Whole Foods, and limiting environmental exploitation at all costs, then I think the post looks even worse to those outside of hunting culture
 
Colorado must be a real cluster fk to have that level of garbage in a wilderness backcountry location to Q a guy who knocked down what appears to be human created cairns on a well established trail.

I may find an occasional gum wrapper in the Bob or Cabinets where I romp around... usually along the main horse arteries in / out of the Wilderness.
He’s actually from Nevada, no idea on the video location.

Meh, I found a balloon on POW, wrappers near tear drop lake in Adak, all kinds of crap in MT, ID, WY, etc.

Litter bugs abound.
 
no idea on the video location.
I had the impression you were speaking of Wilderness (referenced in your OP).

I don't see enough litter to make me wonder, WTF is wrong with people where I wander in our Natl Forest land and that amount reduces the further in i route... hmmm, maybe why my elk harvest ratio is about 1:4 currently. Haha! If I could tolerate pumpkin patches, maybe more litter = more elk? :D
 


USFS defines the big ones they build for navigation as cairns, the small ones (couple of stones) as rock ducks and say the later should be scattered at every opportunity.
After reading the newyorker article I've concluded that social media is the underlying problem and should be banned.

Seriously though, cairns don't bother me. I'd rather just get rid of trails altogether in wilderness areas.
 
After reading the newyorker article I've concluded that social media is the underlying problem and should be banned.

Seriously though, cairns don't bother me. I'd rather just get rid of trails altogether in wilderness areas.
I’d venture that there are more visitors per acre on designated Wilderness lands than on BLM.

Trails are a necessity for conservation.
 
Not trying to hijack the thread, but since we’re talking about litter...

Pardon me, but do you have any grey poupon?
I think I’ll try to white knight this out of there if I hunt the same area next year.
I wonder what happened? Maybe they’re coming back?
861D27BF-6257-49D2-A654-5F6007D25574.jpeg
 
but since we’re talking about litter...
Looks like a person avoiding others - initial grow op in the area or small op clean-up... clean up being the harvest of a one/two person plot? Is this close to the road? black funny/pex pipe anywhere?
 
I’d venture that there are more visitors per acre on designated Wilderness lands than on BLM.

Trails are a necessity for conservation.
Not sure I agree on your second point. If the trails weren't there to begin with, would there still be as many visitors? I honestly don't know, but I would guess not.

If you build it, they will come...
 
no crap. Everyone should have a balloon or two in their pack. They're everywhere I've ever been. No matter how remote.
balloons? I am a master balloon finder. Found my first true Booner ballooner in AZ last year. admittidly just the green gross score though...proud, proud moment. just look at this beast. Mass forever and long azz main beam.

D9D3C818-BF94-4832-843B-E6FD56D7A947.jpeg
 
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