Anyway, I notice two things with the younger generation of hikers, regarding rock trail markers: 1) They don't know how to pronounce "cairn," and 2) Somehow, the useful word "duck" has been disappearing from the lexicon, so now if you ask people in a hiking group if they know what a "duck" is, only the grizzled old guys who have been hiking for 50 years can give you the answer.
1. A "cairn" consists of a lot of rocks piled up to mark a trail. Usually more rocks than are necessary. A cairn also might mark the top of a peak, and could be very large, as tall as a person.
2. "Cairn" is NOT PRONOUNCED "Karen." It is not a chick's name, okay? It is NOT a two-syllable word, okay? It's a one-syllable word that rhymes with "bairn."
3. A "DUCK" is a trail marker using no more than two rocks. It is a better kind of trail marker. You can easily kick it over, too, if it seems unnecessary, and it won't hurt your foot to do so.
I would like to see the word "duck" to come back into common usage. So, I hereby announce that it is now coming back into common usage. So, please use it, and explain to others what it means.
Thank you!
No pronunciation or spelling problems there. Note to Joe: Maybe we need a spellchecker.
. He is quoted here saying a cairn is something big that is arranged well so that the rocks all lean against each other rather than simply being piled up, so that with wind and temperature changes they won't fall down. The ATA standard they use for size for a cairn is 24-36 inches. They are therefore at least 3 feet in diameter and can be seen even when there is some tall grass or snow on the ground.
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