Visiting the Great Smoky Mountains? Do Not Do This Anymore

(KMDL-FM) The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a favorite for visitors from Louisiana and the Gulf South. For those of us who live "down the bayou", an escape to East Tennessee and Western North Carolina is like visiting the moon. We don't have that kind of elevation down here. Nor do we seem to get as many cool mountain mornings.

a view of a mountain range with trees in the foreground

However, as more and more of us visit the park, it has become more evident that fewer and fewer of us are understanding the concept of "Leave No Trace". In other words, some are deciding to make changes to the landscape of the park, leaving a distinct human touch on something that is supposed to be protected and natural

What's the Big Deal About a Pile of Rocks in a  Stream?

a stack of rocks on a beach

If you are a frequent hiker or outdoor enthusiast, you probably know what Cairns are. If you don't, they are human-built piles of rocks that are often used as trail markers, landmarks, memorials, or even burial sites. What is the harm in simply leaving a stack of rocks, found in the wilderness, right there in the wilderness?

According to a post on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Facebook Page, there is plenty wrong with that practice. The article explains why the practice of building stacks of rocks, particularly in streams, could have a negative effect on wildlife and the park.

Here is the explanation from the Park Service:

A cairn—an intentionally stacked pile of rocks—might seem harmless, but it’s not.
When rocks are stacked or moved, it destroys the shelters where animals live, hide, and lay eggs. You can help protect these fragile aquatic ecosystems by leaving rocks exactly where you find them.

A clear stream flows over rocks under a wooden bridge

While many visitors to the National Parks Facebook page read and understood the requests, there are some that expressed anger and disgust at the fact that the Park Service was actually attempting to protect a protected place.

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Let me throw some numbers out to you. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park entertains about 12 million people every year. If only half of those visitors decided to "leave their mark" in the form of cairns, that would be 6 million rock stacks. And that's just in one year.

gray and black rocks near body of water during daytime

Many of the cairns are built in flowing streams. A rock stack in the middle of a stream will collect leaves, sticks, and other forest debris as it washes down the mountain. Eventually, that rock stack becomes an impediment to the flow of the stream. The stream, seeking the lowest point, will go around the rock stack or pool behind it.

How Can a Stack of Rocks Kill a Stream and Destroy a Habitat?

Think of how beavers make dams. They build a network of sticks for mud and debris to collect. As a result, this blocks water flow, and where there was once a stream, there is now a pond. That is an entirely different kind of ecosystem.

This is the potential environmental change that the Park Service wants to avoid, at least at the hands of human intervention. Remember, we are talking about millions of humans over time.

Those who support unrestricted human intervention in our natural wonders really should consider the potential issues they are creating because they feel it's their right to leave their mark on nature. You've probably guessed I don't think humans need to be doing anything that disrupts nature, at least in a place where we have agreed to protect it.

Would You Allow Someone to Stack Rocks Where You Live?

Would you be okay if someone constructed a rock stack in front of the storm drain that drains your neighborhood street? Probably not, because it could drastically change the environment where you live. If you can understand that concept, you can see the point the Park Service is making.

a stream running through a forest filled with lots of rocks

Nature put the rocks in the Smoky Mountains exactly where they need to be. Mother Nature doesn't need your help in designing; she's got it figured out.

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If you really feel the need to leave your mark, why not go spray-paint your name on the Great Pyramid or maybe etch your name in one of the faces on Mount Rushmore or go weld high heels on the Statue of Liberty.  But that would be vandalism. Personally, I can't see the difference.