Why Shouldn’t You Stack Rocks While Hiking? — And Here’s What Experts Say You Should Do If You See Them

Historically, stacking rocks is a practice that some cultures used to mark sacred sites. In North America, it is often done to determine hunting routes or the locations of important areas in the mountains, such as food and water sources. In other words, these traditional practices differ from the recreational stacking of rocks that are popular today.

When you are hiking, you may often see a tiny structure of rocks on top of each other, as people nowadays often do this for fun. However, experts warn that stacking rocks can actually harm the mountains or nature, wildlife, and other hikers. So, let’s explore why that is, and what you should actually do if you see one later on.

Rock Piles Disturb Tiny Creatures

Most people often think that they are just rocks, an inanimate object you could put on top of each other. But, in reality, many smaller animals rely on these mountainous rocks as habitat, even if you do not see them nearby.

Tiny creatures, like a number of insect species, salamanders, and even fish, use the bottom side of these rocks as shelter, food storage, and a hiding spot for safety from predators.

Scientifically, rocks can insulate, so they hold the right temperature for some animals to seek refuge from hot and dry weather, and in cold seasons, they provide warmth. Amphibious creatures like toads also often rely on these sheltered spaces between and below the rocks as their most important necessity to survive, aside from food, just like how humans need a home. Without these proper shelters, those animals are at risk of heatstroke, freezing, or dehydration.

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Rocks Help Hold Soil in Place

Why You Shouldn't Stack Rocks on Hikes

Aside from serving as an important shelter and survival need for smaller living animals, stacking rocks is also dangerous for nature itself. Rocks often serve as the foundation that helps hold soil and sand for them to stay where they belong.

When people stack rocks, they will move them away from their original location, and this could lead to erosion. It is mainly because sand and soil can easily be swayed and washed away by water or the wind. This will make it harder for plants to grow and take root. The eroded soil could also clog or pollute the nearby bodies of water, like rivers and canals.

Stacking rocks might seem like just a small, fun thing to do that will not affect anyone or anything. However, that is often not how nature and natural processes work in the real world. One action could ripple, slowly having a bigger influence on the environment over time.

Cairns Can Mislead Hikers

Cairns are man-made stack of stones that serves a real purpose historically. This includes marking significant areas like monuments or other landmarks, and also hiking trails, to guide people on their path. However, due to popularity, more rock stacks that have no significant purpose are being created.

If hikers follow the wrong cairns, they can easily wander off their trail and become lost in a mountainous region they most likely are not capable of getting out of without help. Which is why today, most park rangers and authorities often tell the hikers not to rely on random stacked rocks for directions, and just follow the official signs or maps.

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What Experts Say You Should Do If You See Rock Stacks

3 Reasons NOT To Stack Rocks In Wilderness Areas

So, what should you actually do when you encounter one? The thing is, it is hard to know if someone created these rock stacks with a useful purpose in mind or as a historical landmark, versus something that was more harmful than not.

So, experts say the best thing to do if you see a stack of rocks is to simply leave it alone. Do not put any more rocks on top of it, build a new one, or kick down the tiny structure. The key is to just respect nature and follow the rules and regulations of the parks, trails, and mountains you are exploring.

Read more: NPS.gov

Author's Final Thoughts

There is something beautiful in nature that is not disturbed by any man-made influence. This is actually one of the best parts of hiking. To explore an area that is surrounded by peaceful, undisturbed nature. It inspires a sense of awe and wonder that is hard to replicate in places created by humans.

Nature often offers an escape and a place to have solitude away from all the distractions of everyday modern living. It is either because of its natural beauty or the feelings it could trigger within us, such as knowing there is a lot more to life than what meets the eye, and that this world is much bigger than us.

The principles of leaving no trace as much as you can, which directly discourages the act of rock stacking, are rooted in the idea of preserving this nature for others to experience.

Stacking rocks on trails, especially near waterways, could sometimes feel harmless. But in reality, it hurts tiny animals, leads to land erosion, misguides hikers away from their path, and disturbs our beautiful nature. So, the best practice when exploring is to just leave rocks where they belong and enjoy nature without changing it.

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