The word cairn refers to a mound of rough stones built as a memorial or landmark. Ancient peoples from all over the globe have used the practice of cairn building to mark pathways through difficult to navigate terrain as well as places of special importance.
Arctic explorers used cairns to mark points on treks and in some cases, such as a most famous cairn discovered on May 5, 1859, to relay messages to those who might follow in their tracks. The cairn, again made famous by the recent series on AMC, contained a note written by Captain James Fitzjames and alluded to the fate of the men aboard the two expeditionary ships the Terror and the Erebus. The Victory Point cairn, as it is now known, is believed to have originally been constructed by another explorer, a predecessor of Fitzjames, James Ross in 1830.
You may not be marking anything of importance or creating a memorial but the subtle art of precise cairn building, or rock balancing, could leave you feeling pretty special. Hell, it could even make you famous. If you don’t believe me check out Manu Topic or Michael Grab on youtube..