It looks like something out of a "Mad Max" movie, but this is all too real: Spiked boards of nails and screws are turning up on roads in the Oregon wilderness.
The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest division of the U.S. Forest Service posted a photo of several of these menacing-looking contraptions on Facebook. "We are saddened to report that someone has been 'spiking' forest service roads in the Taylor Creek and Shan Creek areas," it wrote, citing "spikes and wires across roads and trails."
"Reports have stated that the boards that hold the spikes have been covered with leaves, so it may be difficult to see them," the USFS post continued. It encouraged anybody who knows anything to call with information.
Somebody shared the post on Reddit, prompting a heated discussion.
People jumped in immediately with their theories behind the spikes. "They're cooking meth and they don't want the cops or rangers to find them so they put down traps between the cool site and main roads," one person theorized.
Others guessed that it was an effort by poachers to deter rangers; one said it was simply landowners or farmers who "live nearby and think they own the forest."
Another echoed that, saying: "People put them up because they live nearby and think they're entitled to control traffic on those paths. (By control traffic I mean kill someone.)"
To this end, one thing was abundantly clear: Nobody who lays down spiked boards does it unless they intend to harm.
"Definitely malicious intent," one person said. "The motive usually ranges from someone just being a plain old d*****bag to some nearby landowner trying to police the visitors in public parks near their property especially bike trails where people drive with dirt bikes."
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And while the USFS' Facebook post mentioned mining and logging interests that were endangered by driving on the roads, the Reddit poster pointed out the dangers it posed to local hikers, campers, and visitors, too.
"Forest service, hikers and a lot of animals use those trails too," they lamented. "A rusty nail in the foot could be a death sentence for an animal."
And while these deliberate acts of vandalism are threatening to all people and wildlife in the region, the more people are aware of the issue, the more likely it is that the perpetrators can be caught.
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