(photo editing by Dan Teixeira)
A couple of years ago I began making rock stacks and quickly discovered it was the absolute best way for me to relax and express myself with no involved expense. I first started with cairns (man-made pile of rocks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairn) and then branched out into inukshuks (stone landmark built by humans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inukshuk).
Last year while walking by Utah lake I discovered giant piles of ice chunks washed up on the shore. The force of the water pushed some of these chunks into piles that were 8-10 feet high. I’m still trying to figure out how those occurred. Nevertheless, around this time of year Utah lake typically freezes over and at first signs of thawing, the ice begins to crack and move toward shore.
Perfect stacking material! I set out to create an icy inukshuk, armed with the brawn of Jeff, Justin, Quinn, Thayne and Kitch. We headed to the west mountain part of Utah Lake which is the south-western border.
Two observations from this ice chunk phenomenon: 1 – When the waves descend on the ice, it cracks it up and makes this dull sound that sounds like a faint gunshot and 2 – When you skip rocks across the ice it creates a whirring sound that is awesome! Almost like a spinning top.
I’m doing it again. I am hooked. I want to do more rock/ice combo stacks on my next trip.
