How to Read a Cairn

A suspicious pile of rocks seemingly in the middle of nowhere may appear out of place but could actually serve a purpose. Rock cairns, which are large man-made rock piles that are usually conical in shape, mark trails and designate places of historic significance. Cairns built along the shore were used to hold torches to signal ships and boats, much like a lighthouse would. Where a cairn is standing and how it is built can help you determine its purpose. Single cairns are usually monuments, but a series of cairns can mark the way through a trail that would otherwise be difficult to mark.

Instructions

    • 1

      Examine the shape of the cairn. The cairn may be piled in a pyramid shape or stacked as two stones, with a mantle stone across the bottom and the other stone on top.

    • 2

      Stand next to a pyramid shaped cairn, looking in the distance for the next cairn, which indicates the direction of the trail. Continue following the cairns to follow the trail.

    • 3

      Look carefully at the stone on the mantle if it is a two-stone cairn. The top stone points in the direction of the trail. Follow that direction until you reach the next cairn.