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That is why I mentioned that the SHR is not a good test case, it's an outlier - very few people hike it every year, there is really no trail other than where it
by almog 7y ago
That is why I mentioned that the SHR is not a good test case, it's an outlier - very few people hike it every year, there is really no trail other than where it coincides with the JMT highway. In that case, cairns are nothing but impact on the environment, since people will have to make their own way between them anyway.
I totally agree that cairns are a good marker when there is an official trail that in parts has no visible trail (usually in boulders/lava/talus fields).
btw, which desert of the southwest is in question? That's a LARGE area. If we're talking SoCal for example, the entire 700 first miles of the PCT are desert with trail so well maintained and visible that when I hiked it last year, I walked many nights well into night without having to take my flash light out until it became pitch black.
- kylebarron 7y agoGood to see more thru-hikers on HN! I just thru-hiked in 2019 I could imagine there are trails in southern Utah and northern Arizona that might be heavily cairned
- almog 7y agoOh, hi there, it is good to see other thruhikers here indeed!:) Yes, I can imagine that being the case, I'm actually reading Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey, mostly about the times he worked in Archs National Park and it sounds just like that. Fun fact you might share - I stumbled upon Edward Abbey following a quote I saw on a blaze in NorCal (which carried bullet hole, obviously, but it actually what made this quote stand out to me): https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D5bbY00X4AA_eeu.jpg:large https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D5bbY00X4AA_eeu.jpg:large It was misattributed I think, I later found out these were Abbey's words.