Originally published at: Beware! Someone is booby-trapping Oregon forest trails with wire and hidden spike boards - Boing Boing
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i wonder just what group of forest service road users were being targeted? hikers? probably not. or as posted, hunters and miners? hmmm. are there groups of users seen as problematic to these “ecowarrior terrorists”?
i am.reminded of bitter feuds between the hikers and mountain bikers in the Tiger Mountain preserve (Issaquah, WA) where wires were strung across trails that would catch a fast-moving biker at about throat height. i was keenly aware, as this was my “backyard playground” to ride and train for mtn bike racing some 30 years ago.
it takes a nasty individual to booby trap an open, public trail. i can’t begin to fathom that.
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Either right wing militia types or it could be environmentalists? It’s Oregon so either is possible.
One thing, though is that the eco-terrorists of old have largely been rounded up and jailed, so if it’s an environmentalist group, it’s probably a new group? If you haven’t seen it, this is a good documentary about ELF and how they came to an end in the 2000s…
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that sounds plausible. i hadn’t thought of that kind of actor. i first thought of illegal grow ops, but Oregon is a legal state. militia groups practicing guerrilla tactics is very on trend and makes me sick.
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Illegal grow ops is also a possibility! So many options up in old Oregone (RIP, Denis!)!
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Wasn’t this part of the plot of First Blood?
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In these here parts the coal-roalin’ types think it’s a great lark to drag logs across the bike trails in the forest preserves.
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Another option if the land is remote enough, people doing illegal stuff (stills, growing weed, etc) and trying to keep remote hikers and campers out.
I have heard tale of that happening in the Ozarks, but it’s just rumors.
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To whoever is doing it
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As a point of pedantry, these are clearly screws in the picture. You can see the threads. What a waste of good hardware, and poorly engineered as well. Keep it on your own property for the appropriate end time in any case.
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And it’s half-assed.
They didn’t even bother to drill pilot holes.
Amateurs!
/s
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Reminded me of this awfulness which doesn’t bear thinking about…
Or idiots putting up steel wire between trees…
I mean, isn’t this attempted murder?
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that is exactly the kind of shit i was talking about upthread. this kind of malice was actively putting me and my teammates in serious danger as we practiced on trails that were designated open for bicycles to use, with the caveat that cyclists yeild to pedestrians and equestrians. which we always did!
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I confess i skipped the discussion a bit but yes, it is an absolutely vile act of violence when a mountain biker is coming down a trail at speed and hitting that. Didn’t realise it was as widespread, thought it was a local thing amongst the troglodyte yokels over here.
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Depraved indifference?
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“…learned a few tricks from Charlie, don’t ya know…”
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I live near the area. It’s the most plausible scenario.
Environmentalist groups usually warn that they’re doing stuff in the area, both for the publicity and to prevent injury. It’s been ages since I’ve heard of environmentalist groups doing things like spiking trees or what-have-you. And… I don’t exactly know of anything current and local that would prompt such a response.
The area wouldn’t be great for an illegal grow. There are easier places to do it illegally. An illegal meth lab might be a possibility, but… forest trails aren’t really good for that, either.
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