I've just crossed the hills to reach Ullapool, guided along the way by cairns, the wee pyramids of stones that indicate the pathways. Today has been sunny, but in any kind of bad weather the cairns are a lifesaver, guiding walkers safely through the snow or fog.
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| A gift, in the hills |
The person who starts a cairn is a mountain philanthropist. They are on the route, they know where they are, so they don't need the cairn. They pile up the stones for the people who come after them. It's a wholly altruistic act, thinking only of the others who might pass that way. There is no ego involved - you don't leave your name on the cairn - and none of the 'warm glow' that people get from other forms of philanthropy - as happens when you give money to a needy person on the street.
I put a stone on the cairn as I pass it, to say thanks to the person who started it.
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