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Comment by mnky9800n | Hacker News Reader

yes, i was climbing a couple days ago and some teenagers started stacking rocks right in the middle of the trail head for exiting the climbing area. i don't understand why stacking rocks is something anyone cares about.

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It looks cool in photos. And some people egotistically want to mark their territory, like wild animals.

less environmental impact if they would just pee on the existing trail markers then...

Back in 2014, I was hiking through Alligator Falls in Queensland, AU with a friend. We probably bit off a bit more than we could chew and started an 18km hike at 2pm. When we were making our way back, we were lucky the moon was out and bright. We were afraid we might be lost or off trail, but luckily we saw and recognized this Rock Totem:

https://journeyofkhan.us/photo/rock-totem/

It kept us on the path and we thankfully made it back out to the car.

Well then it's a good thing you found an actual trail marker rock totem, and not something some teens decided to build that lead you into the middle of nowhere. Which is why this trend is pretty dangerous.

My theory on people stacking rocks is that many people new to the outdoors are inspired/overcome with a feeling of reverence and they do not know how to express it. deep down in their DNA something tells them to build an alter. Right or wrong the stack of rocks is an expression of their love for the place.

that would only make sense if there were stacked rocks everywhere since people have been going into the wilderness for literally all of history. its because these people see it on instagram and want to do it themselves.

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