Views From Paradise

For some reason, over the last few years, there has been a notion to make a pile of rocks to indicate that you have passed by.  The best of these are the Inukshuks with a man figure, but for most people, it is balancing 3 or more rocks in a vertical pile.  Not always easy as rocks are rounded and balancing with some sense of preservation over time, takes some care.

We have seen thousands of these over the years as we drive past river streams and hiked past rock falls.  I admit that I have attempted a few myself.

The other night as Pat and I were coming back from a Geocache we took a trail through a clear-cut area in the forest near us.  This is a controversial 20 acre clear-cut as it was done by the owner of the Crown Isle resort to clear land east of the resort before he applied to have the land assumed by the city so he could eventually build a housing development.  The rules for clear cutting under the city would have been much more restrictive.

Anyway there is this big clearing in the forest with the huge piles of leftover scrap.  Over the years the land has grown quite swampy but there are some hiking trails along the borders.  (see picture 1 and 2)

As we were hiking back I noticed a 3 rock cairn in the middle.  Huge rocks that conspiracy people would say were done by aliens but I guess that the forestry workers with their big excavators when they were done with the piles, had some time, so made a rock cairn. Pretty sure the owner of Crown Isle was bitter about the time they spent on this (he is a jerk)

I sent Pat off to meander through the swamp to stand beside the cairn for photo perspective.  (see pic 3)  The top rock must weigh 300 lbs, the middle 700 lbs and the bottom tons.  Nice picture, granted it did take Pat 10 minutes to find her way back to the trail through the swampland, but life is an adventure.