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They're beautiful, but years ago I was on a white water river rafting trip and the guide knocked down any human generated rock art he would find.

The reason he said is it was hubris to insert your ego into other people's experience of nature. It distracted from what was already beautiful and transcendent.

I'm not exactly sure I fully agree with him, but when I go to the beach and see these installations, I do tend to see them as intrusions, rather than art.

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I love finding little things that other people have made out of natural objects. It reminds me that humans are part of nature at the end of the day. There's a big difference between spray painting your initials on something and setting up ephemeral art like stone stacks.

Also, being as you were on a river, I'd assume those stone structures weren't cairns, but I figured I'd mention those in case someone comes across a stack of stones and feels it should be returned to its natural state.

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