Along the Camino Portugués, an ancient pilgrim route from Portugal to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain, traditional wayfinding methods have been replaced with modern, bold, yellow arrows. (See my post Following the Yellow Arrows about my adventure walking this trail around this time last year.) I do recall, however, one spot along the forest path between Esposende and Viana do Castelo (shown below) where a fork in the trail was marked with a pile of stones. I didn’t know it was called a “cairn” nor did I know that a cairn is “read” by looking for a small stone at the side of the pile. A small stone on the right indicates you should turn right. While a stone on the left side would indicate turning left. Luckily, I guessed correctly and continued along my merry way.
A cairn is defined as “a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or as a landmark”. Throughout the ages, people built cairns to indicate various items of significance including trails, graves, altars, property boundaries and hunting grounds. Cairns are still used for wayfinding in some backcountry locations.
Nowadays, a different version of cairn—the stacked stone tower—is popping up wherever an abundance of stones are found. These stacks don’t serve any specific purpose; they are typically created for amusement and entertainment. I confess to building a few myself. Here’s my first attempt created with the beautiful red sandstone of Prince Edward Island.
My next attempt resulted in this precarious version.
Obviously, the point is to build a tower that doesn’t topple over. Oops! 
This third version, built with river stones, looks a little more promising.
My rudimentary attempts pale in comparison to some of the ornamental stacked stones I’ve seen in my travels. Here’s a stunning accomplishment I spotted along the Camino between Viana do Castelo and Caminha, Portugal. My online research reveals this would likely be considered “rock or stone balancing”.
“Rock balancing or stone balancing (stone or rock stacking) is an art, discipline, or hobby in which rocks are naturally balanced on top of one another in various positions without the use of adhesives, wires, supports, rings or any other contraptions which would help maintain the construction’s balance.” says Wikipedia. Here’s a closer look at the structure.
Here’s another impressive example of stone balancing. I spotted this one at Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia.
The below figure, a specific version of a cairn called an inuksuk, was also spotted at Peggy’s Cove.
Inuksuit (plural for inuksuk), were traditionally constructed by the Inuit and used to communicate throughout the Arctic. Inuksuit are sculptures of piled stone in the shape of human figures. Turns out, building an inuksuk, especially one that’s stable and graceful, is more difficult than it appears. 
While researching tips for stone stacking, I learned there is quite a controversy around this practice. Back in 2012, David B. Williams, author of the book Cairns: Messengers in Stone gave this advice: “I would offer the idea of leave no trace, meaning don’t build cairns unless they serve a purpose”. But a recent article on BigThink, headlined “Stone stacking destroys the environment for clicks and likes”, makes a much stronger statement. The author Kevin Dickinson reports that “stone stacking has surged in popularity” and that “stone stackers have flocked to national and state parks to enjoy the discipline among nature’s beauty”. This view of stone stacks atop the granite rocks of Peggy’s Cove provides visual evidence.
The BigThink article goes on to explain that environmental damage can result from widespread stone stacking and shares the findings of a scientific case study conducted on Maderia Island, Portugal. The scientists wrote: “We use this case in point to argue that, in areas of conservation concern, authorities should impose restrictions to this practice and quickly dismantle stone towers to avoid a contagious effect that often encourages the construction of more such structures“.
An article by Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, reinforces these concerns and then goes on to offer an easy alternative. “By respecting the following recommendations we can keep our wild spaces wild, while enjoying rock stacking, and the freedom of expression that comes along with it.
. Leave What You Find, officially designated cairns need to be left in place. Altering these cairns in any way poses a threat to visitor safety, and the ethic of the area visiting.
. When making your own rock stacks stick to durable surfaces. Many times along streams and rivers, one will be walking in riparian areas. Use designated trails and durable surfaces to minimize impacts.
. When collecting rocks only collect ones that are loose from soils, sands, and silts. This will minimize the impact of erosion.
. Build your stacks, take pictures, and then return all of the used rocks to their original locations.
. Leave the area how it was originally found to maintain the wildness of the area.”
Duly noted!
Another option I find intriguing is to build a few stone stacks in my garden. Perhaps a few carefully-constructed stone stacks, similar to the one pictured below, would work. This one is actually very small as all the stones fit into the palm of one hand. But with larger stones, probably reinforced for safety, I think it would be amazing nestled in amongst the flowers.
More Info
You can learn more about my experience walking the Camino through Portugal in the post Following the Yellow Arrows. Check out more of Nova Scotia’s rugged beauty in the post First Light at Peggy’s Cove.
Here’s the link to the Rock Balancing article in Wikipedia.
Amazingly, there’s a World Rock Stacking and Skipping Championship held in Llano, Texas as part of Llano Earth Art Fest every year.
You can learn more about inuksuit on the Canadian Encyclopedia website.
David B. Williams’ book Cairns: Messengers in Stone can be found on Amazon. Here’s an interesting interview of the author from the Wandering Educators website. Or you can learn more about the author on his Geology Writer website.
Here is the link to the BigThink Article on stone stacking and to the Leave No Trace article which offers the easy alternative shared above.
Today’s Takeaways
1. Humans have used piles of stones to communicate for centuries.
2. Stacking stones, when done with respect for nature, can be an entertaining challenge.
3. Help protect the outdoors by adopting Leave No Trace practices.
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