Rock Stacking - Is it valid evidence?

[TrevorPeters]

This is a flow-on topic from this one where some interesting comments were made that started me thinking.

Crystal Creek Rock Stack

Rock Stacking - Is it valid evidence?

In the above thread Wocket expressed surprise that this was associated with Yowie behaviour because it seems to be absent from Bigfoot behaviour.
I find this interesting for a couple of reasons.

1. Is it really evidence of Yowie behaviour or not?
2. Are Yowie's different to Bigfoot in this regard?
3. Is the practice of rock stacking being falsely attributed to the Yowie when it is really of human origin?
4. Is Bigfoot rock stacking being falsely attributed to humans?

So I was not aware that this is actually a major problem in the USA because:

1. It seems to be a hiker's way of marking his territory.
Like the old "Kilroy was here" graffiti idea only rocks are easier.

This article was instructive, especially the comments below it.
Stop the rock-stacking

2. Rock Balancing is an art form.
So it seems well established that people go out and stack rocks to show how clever they are then take photos of them in the name of art.

Rock Balancing

You might also want to check out the fantastic efforts on this site.

Artist Creates Impossible Towers Of Balanced Rocks To Meditate

So where am I going with this?
I confess I have no real idea but my alarm bells are jingling and all I have now are questions.

Firstly, do Bigfoot practice rock-stacking but it is automatically passed off as being of human origin because of the problem they seem to have in the US with people doing this so frequently?

Secondly, do we in Australia have a similar culture of Rock Balancing art that could cause rock stacks to be misinterpreted? Are we being fooled?

Thirdly, and most importantly, can we demonstrate that rock-stacks attributed to non-human origins (i.e. Yowie) could not possibly have been done by humans?


The Importance of Data

So I know people like to just head out into the bush and stomp around taking video and photos, but if any of this evidence is to be taken seriously we need to be diligent at fact checking.

To that end in regards to validation or dismissal of incidents of rock stacking we should probably look for:

1. Ease of access to area by humans.
2. Frequency of use by humans.
3. Time frames. When did the marker appear? How long has it been there?
4. Local weather conditions. Has it rained enough recently that the creek has had a good run - enough to level any previous markers (testifies to recent creation).
5. Witnesses? Are there others that might be able to verify that the marker was created at a time that would exclude humans? (i.e overnight in a remote location).
6. Features of the marker. Is it simple or complex? (i.e. just a single rock stack, multiple rock stacks, combined with other elements like crossed sticks, etc.)

Finally, does anyone know if any of the long time researchers are currently compiling this sort of data?
If we go out collecting it I would hate for it to go to waste.

[TrevorPeters]

Bigfoot and Rock Stacking.

Here the guy correctly concludes human origin.
Rock Stacking & Stone Circle

Here his imagination gets the better of him. The rock stacks are right beside a well defined track so more likely human trail markers, even if one is on a tree.
BIGFOOT EVIDENCE- MUST SEE** ROCK STACKS FOLKS**GARGANTUAN BREAK TOO!

I think this one sums up the dilemma nicely.
Bigfoot Stacks Rocks

But wait - what about this?
Bigfoot research Rock Stacking again????

It's a thorny dilemma. I think the number of rock stacks I could accept as potentially non-human in origin just shrank dramatically.

[Yowie bait]

Yowies,whatever you may think they are,have been living in the bush for thousands of years. It is highly possible that they use sticks and stones as a medium for communication.

There are witness reports of rock stacks in remote areas where sightings have occured and also stacks appearing over night or being found in the area where sightings occured when the witness has returned to the scene.

There are also a number of long time and respected researchers that find these stacks in areas where other evidence is found.

They also make great markers for humans. Possible too that yowies learnt this from humans many years ago.

Of course i havent a clue but i wouldnt discount anything when it comes to the hairy men or the "high strangness" of bigfoot.

[Lozza62]

Came across a rock stack near a waterfall at Wilson river reserve last weekend.The stack was on top of a pyramid shaped boulder about ten foot high and for a human to be responsible they would have to cross the river and climb up because the boulder is in the middle of the water.The track we took was overgrown,had trees across it and obviously hadn't been traversed in a long time.There were also branches wrapped around trees and lot of trees snapped off at varying heights.

[TrevorPeters]

Thanks Lozza, that's an interesting find but what worries me personally about anything I might find (including the rock stack my son found recently) is that if I can get there, other people can get there.

While searching the internet for this thread I found multiple photos of people who had created rock stacks in the middle of a body of water on top of a single base rock that was sticking out above water level. It's big in the US but I am not certain about here in Australia.

The other problem is that if the stack is reasonably secure, it can stay in place for up to a year or more. I found that yesterday in an article talking about rock stacks as garden ornaments where the landscaper said they would even last through the winter in the US most years. That is a lot of time, so the fact that a track seems overgrown or not well travelled doesn't necessarily mean people couldn't have been there in the last year.

I still feel that Yowies do stack rocks, and they can certainly get more places than we can, I'm just grappling with how to verify the signs in such a way that they stand up to scrutiny as evidence.

This morning I did a search through my digital copy of "THE YOWIE: In search of Australia's Bigfoot" for the words cairn and rock. I found zero mention in the book of any kind of rock stacking in connection with the Yowie. Considering that Tony Healy and Paul Cropper are very experienced and careful researchers I'm inclined to think this was a deliberate omission.

I'm sorry this seems a bit negative and I apologise for that. I still would love to see photos of what you found.

I guess now that I have found some time to get out and about I'm beginning to realise how difficult this is because of all the contributing factors. Getting my head around how to filter evidence in terms of what will withstand scrutiny and what won't is doing my head in a bit.

It helps that I am a details oriented person so I will just have to start collecting and cataloguing and be patient (that's the really hard part).

[Lozza62]

I agree Trevor that it could have been humans but I just don't know and I will put up a photo soon as it is on my sons phone.The area is a known hotspot but there were also tree breaks and branches oddly wrapped around other trees and I noticed that the branches were not the same type as the trees they were wrapped around eg bottlebrush limbs wrapped around gum trees which I find odd.

[macquariedave]

I agree Trevor that it could have been humans but I just don't know and I will put up a photo soon as it is on my sons phone.The area is a known hotspot but there were also tree breaks and branches oddly wrapped around other trees and I noticed that the branches were not the same type as the trees they were wrapped around eg bottlebrush limbs wrapped around gum trees which I find odd.

Shown previously, from SA in 2015.

[TrevorPeters]

Thanks Dave, that's a neat one. The centre stone is even wedge shaped, almost like a key stone in an arch.
Was it thought to be created by our hairy friends?

It's the same style as this from an artist's page.

gravity-stone-balancing-michael-grab-2.jpg

It seems the Rock Balancing art is also alive and well in Australia, but how widespread it is I have no way of knowing.

Rock Balancing (Australia) - Facebook Group

And in Tassie
Devonport Rock Sculptor

Some of the more sophisticated pieces are quite obviously art pieces as they display rocks balanced on points or in cantilever structures, however, some beginners have done stacks that we might mistake for Yowie work, like this one below taken from the Facebook Group previously mentioned.

Rochelle_Bull_beginners_stack.jpg

[macquariedave]

Thanks Dave, that's a neat one. The centre stone is even wedge shaped, almost like a key stone in an arch.
Was it thought to be created by our hairy friends?

It's the same style as this from an artist's page.

gravity-stone-balancing-michael-grab-2.jpg

It seems the Rock Balancing art is also alive and well in Australia, but how widespread it is I have no way of knowing.

Rock Balancing (Australia) - Facebook Group

And in Tassie
Devonport Rock Sculptor

Some of the more sophisticated pieces are quite obviously art pieces as they display rocks balanced on points or in cantilever structures, however, some beginners have done stacks that we might mistake for Yowie work, like this one below taken from the Facebook Group previously mentioned.

Rochelle_Bull_beginners_stack.jpg

Sorry, but I can' help but tend to think that some of these at least are examples of the art of Photoshop rather than Rock Stacking . . .

[yowiedan]

Found these two rock stacks at Hazelbrook, One I think is done by a human the other not sure about cause it was so far off the trail. 2.7.2016

[Wolf]

Rockstacking has been common here is the wonderful land of oz for a very long time.
There are a few people I know (mainly from northern NSW) who do it everywhere they go.

Possibly Yowies do it too, there's no way of knowing aside from observing them in the act. In northern territory the Origines marked paths with cairns of rocks. When you passed by you would wipe a hand under the armpit, then wipe sweat onto the surface of the topmost rock.

[Yowie bait]

Heres some very ordinary rock stacks i photographed only an hour ago. There is a better one (that i made)around the corner. I figure its kids or yowie hunters or someone having a lend of me as not far from walking track where i have lunch when working in the area.

Thing is what confuses me is why are they so bland? If you were too make one too fool someone then surely youd do a better one . I also saw something weird across the creek from the stacks only a week ago and never noticed them other times ive been there. Still i doubt very much they are yowie related. Too public.

[adventurer]

Hi, when we found rock stacks, some were still wet with no body around, i believe people could build these but time consuming, and for us to go in the bush with these still wet??Dee

[adventurer]

Obviously this is human done by someone.

[Yowie bait]

These stacks are a great example of what Trevor is talking about.

I took these pics on friday arvo. These stacks replaced the previous stacks i posted above. One of the original stacks had been knocked over already(probably by the huge python i saw down there sliding past them one day. A cool thing to see!) and left for a few weeks.

Now these better stacks are there in their place. Id say its definetely human and very small chance made by yowie or junjudee. Definetely not viable as evidence but interesting nonetheless.