Capturing the Cairn

Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile (or stack) of stones. It comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn (plural càirn). Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas. They vary in size from small stone markers to entire artificial hills, and in complexity from loose, conical rock piles to delicately balanced sculptures and elaborate feats of megalithic engineering.

 

Modern cairns may also be erected for historical, memorial commemoration, or simply for artistic reasons.

Rock cairns are small mounds of stones and pebbles built to mark biking and hiking trails, as a memorial to having been somewhere, or as a simple art form. Cairns can be found all over the world, from alpine regions, to barren desert and tundra, as well as coastlines. It is traditional for each person passing by a cairn to add a stone, as a small bit of maintenance to counteract the effects of wind and weather. Often the habit is to only add to the top, and to use a smaller stone than the previous top stone, resulting in a precarious stack of tiny pebbles.

Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.  - Pablo Picasso

Leica M9 35mm Summicron

@ 2012 Photo Pro - Jeffrey P. Hopp