Mountain biker finds Back 40 branch booby trap
Allen Milton was flying down the Back 40 on his bright orange bike, he said, when he narrowly avoided a smack from a branch that reached off the forest floor.
The branch was sitting after a dip just before the trail crosses the intersection of Dorking Lane and Manchester Road, he said, reaching up and resembling a scorpion’s stinger. It appeared to be placed intentionally, he said.
“It wasn’t as bad as it looked,” Milton said.
He didn’t think it would be likely to break skin, he said, but if it caught someone off guard — like a younger or newer rider who doesn’t look very far ahead — it probably would have hurt.
He could tell the branch was placed, he said, because it didn’t match up with any nearby trees that might have dropped it. Additionally, he said, there was a brush pile, much like the ones trail volunteers tend to leave after clearing trails. He suspects someone dragged it from there.
He didn’t report this to the police, he said, because small things like this — limbs or large rocks left in the trail — are not terribly uncommon, though he believes it’s clear they’re put up by humans.
These trail alterations are more common near houses, he said, though whether it's annoyed homeowners or bored kids is impossible to tell.
“The more you ride,” Milton said, “the more you can kind of identify the unnatural.”
Police Chief James Graves said that his department has officers on bike patrol regularly checking out the trails.
“We do have a bike unit that does that and they do it on a proactive basis,” he said.
They have not encountered anything first-hand, he said, noting that anyone who sees something should report it.
While Milton would be inclined to report something more clearly put up to hurt someone, like fishing line or nails, he said, this wasn’t as big a deal. But it’s a good reminder, he said, to pay attention to the trail ahead.
Moreover, he said, social media has proven a great tool to keep the community informed of things like limbs and fallen trees, and the trails benefit from a solid community that often takes care of things like downed branches and trees before they become a bigger problem.
“It’s a great community,” he said. “Everyone puts in some work.”