[Cdt-l] cairnes

[Jonathan Ley]

I think part of the problem with cairns is that you have no idea what 
they're there for, or which direction they point. Plus, the person who 
built the cairn could well have been misdirected themselves, or had some 
other agenda... In Colorado, nearly every hilltop or mountaintop has a 
cairn on it... but that doesn't mean you need to hike there - if 
anything they're just more confusing.

That said, there are some places where the trail is neatly cairned, 
parts of central NM and parts of MT come to mind...

The bulk of the confusion currently on the trail is in southern NM. The 
rest of the trail really isn't so bad.

The best thing you can do to stay found is just that - stay found. You 
ought to know where you are on the map at all times. Most people get 
misdirected because they put their head down and hike 5 miles without 
consulting their map. Then, it's too late... They don't know where they 
are, and have a heck of a time figuring it out. I've done this myself... 
Also, it really helps to know things like how to use a compass properly 
to orient a map, how to use your GPS (if you have one), how to interpret 
topography from a topographic map, etc. I'd recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Staying-Found-Complete-Compass-Handbook/dp/0898867851/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241724199&sr=8-1
There are other good ones as well...

Good luck out there to everyone!

-Jonathan

champ baum wrote:
> i am planning on doing the CDT next year (saving cash money now) and 
> have been reading past and current journals and getting as much info 
> as i can.
>  
> hey i hear that there are many trailjunctions that are unmarked and 
> can be confused because of the many dirt roads in some areas....well 
> my question is do hikers not build cairnes at some junctions? 90% of 
> the backpacking i do is in the southwest and there may be many areas 
> where the route is unmarked or difficult to find, but in many places a 
> thoughtful soul is kind enough to build a  cairne. I have been reading 
> many complaints about the BLM or whomever not maintaing and marking 
> the trail, but this is also the appeal of the CDT to most i think. So 
> the ultimate question is why not build a cairne at the junctions you 
> (current and future backpackers) have to backtrack to or think might 
> be confusing to others. Although maybe not building them may help the 
> CDT keep its challenging appeal......
>
>
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