NORTH ELBA, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is seeking information about multiple rock cairns that were knocked over at the Wright Peak Summit in North Elba. Serving as navigators for hikers, the rock cairns are typically used outside of the Adirondack’s high peaks.
Officials with the DEC said summit stewards spent days repairing 11 of the 12 cairns that were found knocked down on September 15. Anyone with information or who witnessed the disconstruction of the rock cairns should email Info.R5@dec.ny.gov.
The rock cairns are maintained under an agreement between the DEC and the Summit Steward program, which is part of the Adirondack Mountain Club. Trained individuals use special techniques to construct the towers from dry stones, functioning as an alternative to signposts.
Although the terrain of a mountain may impact the spacing between cairns, the idea is to help hikers navigate their way through the trails with near-zero visibility by going from cairn to cairn. Rebuilding cairns can take days, depending on the number of stewards, the weather, the site, shape, and style of rocks.
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