I didn't associate it with a brand at the time. I recognized it as Elder Futhark, an old style of runes. The first symbol is z, and represents protection of self or property. The second is a, and represents prosperity or stability, just generally speaking. Before I ran off to find a phone to call Scott Wolter, I did a little investigatin. The rock faces due west and appears to have been in a fire, like one of the many campfire rings in the area. I found another similar rock and it's very hard, so it wasn't scratched in. Looks like they used a punch or big nail. Look really close, and if Vikings set up a camp here and put up a boundary marker, they did it within the last year, as I don't see much weathering at all in the carving. Maybe not what the rascal intended, but I thought it was a pretty good joke on me anyway. Left it where it was, and maybe in 50 years we'll see it on the news and get another good laugh out of it!
It is such a shame to see artifacts being manufactured with power tools and by cheats and dishonest people. I have pretty much quit certain parts of this site due to dishonesty.
