More Yosemite hikers knocking down man-made rock formations along the trails
Hikers in Yosemite National Park are answering the growing calls to knock down man-made rock formations along area trails.
The rock piles can be several feet high and most people see them and walk on by.
The calls to "knock them down" are especially loud this year, and park officials say that's exactly what you should do when you come across these so-called cairns - rocks stacked on top of one another.
Hikers are reminded that these man-made rock piles go against the wilderness ethics code called Leave No Trace.
The code calls on visitors to do things like properly disposing of trash and waste, leaving what they find alone, and respecting wildlife.
According to Yosemite National Park officials, stacking rocks is "distracting in a wilderness setting. Building rock cairns also disturbs small insects, reptiles, and microorganisms that call the underside home."
There has been some pushback over this as hikers say that the cairns help others navigate tricky trails and use them as landmarks.
More rocks are being stacked this year as near-record crowds are going to see the raging waterfalls.