Signposts in the Mist

At night or in the mist, cairns can be very reassuring. Whether they are marking a summit or, hopefully, keeping you on the right line. It can be argued that there are too many and are not all necessary, but better that, than none at all. They come in various forms from a pile of boulders to a carefully constructed summit obelisk. The Hallin Fell summit cairn is an exaggerated example, standing at 12 feet. If you have climbed Thornthwaite Crag you will remember its summit cairn standing at 14 feet.

My cairn isn't about these oversized cairns but more about the one that comes into view when you are starting to doubt your navigation abilities in mist.