Tour guide Ari Arnórsson and his associates cleared the path to Krýsuvík in southwest Iceland of around 1,200 fake cairns created by hikers on Friday. Arnórsson said fake cairns like this, which are called warts, are an extensive environmental problem.
“It is an important initiative aimed at raising awareness of one of the worst environmental problem in recent years,” Arnórsson told Fréttabladid in regards to his actions on Friday.
“Cairns and remains of cairns are of great cultural value and they should not be messed up, but warts are a disgrace to culture and should be removed immediately,” Arnórsson added.
Cairns are piles of stone that were erected as important landmarks on highland paths, but warts are something that tourists pile up for fun. They are usually small but the largest pile which Arnórsson and his associates destroyed on Friday was 1.5 meters high.
