Cairn Making – A Meditative Activity That Can Bring You Closer to the Earth and Your Community
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 focus on balance, permanence and harmony.
Throughout the history of mankind, cairns have served many different purposes. They could have been built to mark a path, indicate a food supply, or warn of danger. In North America cairns served as burial grounds for Native American tribes. This practice was known as the inukshuk.
The word cairn is derived from a Gaelic phrase that means “heaps of stones”. They are typically built in the shape of 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 are used by many people, but they are most commonly used by hikers. Cairns can be used by hikers to return to the trailhead at the end of a long day of hiking or to help them find their way in remote wilderness areas. hop over to this website
A well-placed, properly-marked cairn may save lives by guiding a group of lost hikers. Some people claim that cairns do not belong in the environment and violate Leave No Trace principles.
