Ausanon reporting, I worked as a ranger a little over 2 years ago.
Seeing a cairn on a trail never fails to strike a tinge of irritation regardless of where I encountered them. Only recently have I really mulled over why it did.
But to put it simply
>narcissism
Australia is blessed with signs from long ago, you see them everywhere if you know where to look.
Gigantic trees with immense scars where a canoe was cut out of the bark from its youth, so long ago that this scar has grown with the tree.
Grooves on boulders that were used to sharpening tools and spears, eroded through frequent use. Middens of seashells that point to an ancient camping ground. Suspiciously rounded stones, likely used as milling stones, the list goes on.
These signs have a reason, or purpose for being where they are, its humbling to see these signs from long ago, it connects you in a strange way that is difficult to articulate. Finding a pile of seashells was a sure sign of a settlement and a good fishing spot nearby, even thousands of years later.
However, It was seeing one of these milling stones haphazardly stacked near a known settlement site that I found personally frustrating.
These cairns serve no purpose but a tool for social media clout.
They dont help to navigate the trails, they don't tell of important information or alert of danger.
They're there for the photo op, and thier creators don't even have the courtesy to pull it apart to leave the area as they found it.
Their ugly monument being frozen in time through a photograph isn't enough apparently, you must also suffer the displeasure seeing it personally as well.
