RVers who want to get off the beaten path and into the forest beware. A mean-spirited someone has been spiking Forest Service roads in southern Oregon. The caltrop-like boobytraps are designed to puncture vehicle tires.
Sound familiar? We’ve reported on boobytraps on Texas highways. But the Forest Service road spiking uses different “equipment.”
Forest Service road spiking near camping areas
On a Facebook post, the U.S. Forest Service warns that road spiking has turned up along roads in the Taylor Creek and Shan Creek areas in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.
“Hunting and mining interests have reported spikes and wires across roads and trails in the area,” says the post. But hunters and miners aren’t the only ones endangered. Taylor Creek, west of Grants Pass, is also popular among campers and other recreationists.
The Forest Service road spiking boobytraps are simply boards with nails or screws run through them. They’re laid down on the roadway, and in some instances they “have been covered with leaves, so it may be difficult to see them,” according to the Forest Service post.
Don’t see them, hit them, and you’ll be out at least one tire, perhaps more.
Who’s behind it?
Who could be doing this nasty deed? Some who’ve read the post suggest it could be folks involved in illicit drug growing operations.
If one poster’s statement is true, the Forest Service roads have been boobytrapped before. “I got spiked years ago up at Spencer Creek,” says a poster named Alex. “They used large tacks tied together with string. This way, all you had to do is hit one tack and eventually the entire line would wrap around your tire.”
The Forest Service wants your help. If you see anything on the Wild Rivers Ranger District related to this type of activity, please report it to the Grants Pass Interagency Office at 541-471-6500 or the Wild Rivers Ranger District at 541-592-4000.
##RVT1180b
We’ve been reading/hearing these kinds of stories way more frequently since 2016 when it became OK to kill somebody walking on 5th Avenue in NYC and get away with it … a sorry state of affairs all around especially for RVers
10-4 on that statement.
Greenies.
I’m not buying the pot grower theory. Too much legal stuff out there these days. My bet is on radical environmentalists…The same people who drive spikes into trees hoping to destroy the logging industry, without a single care that they might harm or kill the guy only out there trying to earn a living running the chainsaw. They don’t want any motorized vehicles in the woods. They don’t care that they may hurt people, and they relish getting in the news to prove themselves worthy.
I’m inclined to believe it’s the tree huggers, not the meth cookers doing this.
Oregon and spikes were the popular tool of choice when the spotted owls met the timber harvesters. The diversity of ecology coupled with the progressive culture makes Oregon a magnet for environmental activists and extremists.
West coast OREGON ,sierra club radicals, drugs an no police .fyi
Locals trying to “their” Forest for their use only.
Thank you, Russ and Tina! What a dirty, low-down trick!?! I hope they discover the culprits soon. Have a great week and safe travels!