Originally Posted By: saltydog
Hobbes:

Pretty sure the "Kek" Cairns are NPS, if they are the ones I am thinking of: route markers on the west slope? Inyo may have a different view and budget for such things


NPS tries to limit damage by concentrating use. From the alternative selected in their Wilderness Stewardship Plan:

Issue:
"The Mount Langley area is being impacted
from social trailing and opportunities for
solitude in this area are decreasing."
Action:
"To address the social trailing and resulting
resource damage, Class 1 trails would be
constructed to the summit of Mount Langley from
Army Pass, and from Soldier Lakes to the Mount
Langley Trail. Informal trails would be
rehabilitated."

The cairns are there to protect the slopes from the people (as an alternative to limiting the number of people), not to protect the people from the slopes.

Dale B. Dalrymple