Can I Legally Knock Over Ugly Rock Cairns in Idaho?

Get our free mobile app

What’s the point of rock cairns?  I’ve written about this before.  Some people objected to my view that it’s a waste of time and effort.  I’ve encountered them in some ghost towns in Idaho.  It’s not like leaving a personal signature.  At City of Rocks, old signatures are history.  Today it’s just graffiti.  If you want a record of your visit, take a picture.  The people who argued with me about the cairns need to get lives.  If your identity is piling rocks, then you need an infusion of self-worth.

I was happy to read that park administrators recommend knocking over cairns, which I would think would be much more fun than building one.

Park rangers explain you’re not supposed to alter the character of a park.  You aren’t supposed to leave behind garbage or burn the place down.  Why would you alter the appearance with a tower of rocks?  It’s not natural.

I’m reminded of an old cartoon I watched when I was a kid.  Bugs Bunny is being pursued by the Sheriff of Nottingham when Bugs races into the King’s Royal Gardens.  The Sheriff warns him he’s trespassing.  The Bugs turned the tables and sold the property to the Sheriff.  The latter nearly has a house completed before he realizes his mistake.

Cairns aren’t nearly as obtrusive but the idea is the same.  They’re scars on the natural order of the land.

If you still feel compelled to stack stones, then take up landscaping your backyard.  Or better yet, find something constructive to do with your time.