There are a lot of potential hazards for hikers out there. Weather, rough terrain, wild animals – all of these are a threat to the life and safety of anyone who steps foot into the outdoors. But now you can add another danger associated with walking up a forest trail – booby traps.
According to KSL TV, booby traps were found just off the Big Springs Trail in Provo Canyon. A forest service officer was patrolling the area when he noticed a trip wire at the front entrance of a stick and branch shelter known locally as The Fort. The wire was attached to a rock covered in sharpened sticks that would swing down from a tree after being tripped. Another trip wire was found at the back entrance that would cause a person to fall on top of sharpened stakes planted in the ground.
Luckily, the officer is a former military service member and was had training to notice things like trip wires on the ground. If he hadn’t been the first person to find the booby traps, any unsuspecting hiker could have set off the booby traps and had been seriously injured or even killed. The stick fort where the traps were discovered sees a lot of daily traffic, especially among children who like to explore it’s interior.
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office says they found and arrested two men, 19-year-old Benjamin Rutkowski of Orem and 21-year-old Kai Christensen of Provo. Both were booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor.
Of course, this sort of incident is extremely rare, but it’s a bit disconcerting that we should perhaps be watching out for more than just rocks and roots to trip over when hiking in Utah. Now we can add trip wires and booby traps to the list!
To see the booby traps found in Provo Canyon in action, check out the story that aired on KSL 5.