# Haha very funny motherfuckers (hiking trail boobytrapped)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [April 24, 2012, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784 "2012-04-24T06:15:08Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/1 "2012-04-24T06:15:08Z")
[
> [@](#):
>
> A deadly booby trap rigged along a popular Utah trail could have killed someone if they had tripped a ground wire set up to send a 20-pound, spiked boulder swinging into an unsuspecting hiker, authorities said Monday.
>
> Another trap was designed to trip a passer-by into a bed of sharpened wooden stakes, authorities said.
]([http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US\_BOOBY\_TRAPS\_HIKING\_TRAIL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-04-23-20-39-57](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BOOBY_TRAPS_HIKING_TRAIL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-04-23-20-39-57))What the fuck was going on in these guys heads? Did they think this would be a terrific late April Fool’s joke? Were they gonna come back to the scene and laugh at the corpse?
What.
The.
Fuck?
I’m a hiker, and the thought of going off with a couple of friends for a good hike, only to have someone end up injured or dead because of malice aforethought by some anonymous douchebag pisses me off. Luckily, the anonymous douchebags in this case weren’t very bright about keeping their fool mouths shut.
> [@](#):
>
> a tipster alerted authorities about comments on Facebook that mentioned the traps and the shelter. Detectives then tracked down the suspects, Cannon said.
>
> Benjamin Steven Rutkowski, 19, of Orem and Kai Matthew Christensen, 21, of Provo were booked in the Utah County Jail on Saturday and released on bail.
I’d like to know when the trial date is, and then hear what the verdict & sentence are. If someone got hurt, then a whole slew of charges could be filed, including assault, mayhem and possibly attempted murder, but thankfully that didn’t happen. Unfortunately, that means that authorities are prolly limited to charging the pair of idiots with something like misdemeanor reckless endangerment, which means that they’ll get off fairly lightly for their heinous acts.
Assholes.
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### Author:  [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/2 "2012-04-24T06:25:54Z")
Let me be the first to say that if you’re going to setup traps to kill or maim people, do NOT go around telling others about the traps. Totally defeats the purpose.
And if you’re going to use stakes, use sharpened metal spikes instead. Wood will rot and decay or get eaten up over time, reducing the effectiveness of your trap.
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### Author:  [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/3 "2012-04-24T07:38:38Z")
I agree with your pitting, **SnowBoarderBo** , but you should have quoted the following from your linked article:
> [@Associated Press](#):
>
> The 20-pound spiked boulder was rigged to swing at head-level with just a trip of a thin wire - a military-like booby trap set on a popular Utah canyon trail. \<\<_snip_\>\> two men arrested over the weekend on suspicion of misdemeanor reckless endangerment told authorities the traps were intended for wildlife
The fuckers claimed it was meant for “wildlife”. A spiked boulder at Human head height was meant for “wildlife”. Unless they have velociraptors in the area, I don’t buy that at all.
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### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/4 "2012-04-24T08:03:42Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#):
>
> I agree with your pitting, **SnowBoarderBo** , but you should have quoted the following from your linked article:
> The fuckers claimed it was meant for “wildlife”. A spiked boulder at Human head height was meant for “wildlife”. Unless they have velociraptors in the area, I don’t buy that at all.
Bigfoot!
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/5 "2012-04-24T08:07:15Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#):
>
> The fuckers claimed it was meant for “wildlife”. A spiked boulder at Human head height was meant for “wildlife”. Unless they have velociraptors in the area, I don’t buy that at all.
Does wildlife in Utah commonly use hiking trails?
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### Author:  [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/6 "2012-04-24T08:13:28Z")
Sound like psychopaths.
> [@Jesse Ventura](#):
>
> Until you’ve hunted man, you haven’t hunted yet
Maybe they took that to heart and were planning on eating their prey?
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### Author:  [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/7 "2012-04-24T08:20:34Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Originally Posted by Associated Press
> The 20-pound spiked boulder was rigged to swing at head-level with just a trip of a thin wire - a military-like booby trap set on a popular Utah canyon trail. \<\\> two men arrested over the weekend on suspicion of misdemeanor reckless endangerment told authorities the traps were intended for wildlife
They are being charged with a misdemeanor? Isn’t that the same category as a parking offence? Shouldn’t they be charged with murder - setting a deadly trap with malice aforethought?
Also, a trap along a hiking trail was once used in a crime novel of the Anna Pigeon series. I wonder if they read that book and thought “good idea” or just watched some Rambo/ played some video games.
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### Author:  [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/8 "2012-04-24T08:33:59Z")
> [@Manduck](#):
>
> Bigfoot!
First off, a spiked boulder swinging at human head height is just going to hit a sasquatch in the shoulder (or mid upper arm if it’s a male). It’s not going to hurt it.
Second off: The spiked boulder is tied to a tree. Not many people know this, but bigfeet love tetherball. Last time I played that game with one of those chewbaca looking motherfuckers, he beat me 11 to 9 and got my last six pack of Sierra Nevada. There is no way in hell I’ll play using a spiked boulder.
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### Author:  [@Scholar\_Beardpig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scholar_Beardpig)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/9 "2012-04-24T11:40:51Z")
Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there!
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/10 "2012-04-24T11:49:48Z")
> [@Scholar\_Beardpig](#):
>
> Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there!
In this case it sounds like people were dragging stuff _up_ from the quarry.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/11 "2012-04-24T12:31:10Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> Does wildlife in Utah commonly use hiking trails?
Wildlife everywhere commonly use hiking trails. It’s much easier for bigger animals not to have to fight with the underbrush. Animals ain’t stupid.
But these idiots need to have the book thrown at them. Perhaps an old World Book Encyclopedia Volume M. Then they should be put on trial.
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### Author:  [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/12 "2012-04-24T12:59:31Z")
This is sort of the redneck version of chucking a cinder block off a freeway overpass.
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### Author:  [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/13 "2012-04-24T13:00:11Z")
In their defense, the Roadrunner NEVER gets hurt when the Coyote does this stuff.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/14 "2012-04-24T13:07:50Z")
I haven’t hiked that trail (Provo was an hour’s drive south of me), but I’ve hiked trails in the mountains near Salt Lake City. Certainly Provo, one of the larger metropolitan areas in Utah, and home of Brigham Young University, is a populous area with well-frequented hiking trails. Big Spring is apparently a short (3.5 - 5 mile, depoending on your source) trail that is rated “easy”, is just off the road, and is even used for mountain biking:
> **[Big Spring Hollow Trail - Utah Mountain Biking](https://utahmountainbiking.com/trails/bigsprng/)**
>
> Big Spring Hollow (South Fork of Provo Canyon). A Must-Ride Classic! Short-but-sweet singletrack loop in the South Fork of Provo Canyon. Meadows, forested riding, a few views of the mountains. Mild climbing, low-intermediate technical. Season May...
> **[AllTrails: Trail Guides & Maps for Hiking, Camping, and Running](https://www.alltrails.com?referrer=trailscom)**
>
> Search over 400,000 trails with trail info, maps, detailed reviews, and photos curated by millions of hikers, campers, and nature lovers like you.
It’s not as if they set these traps somewhere off in unfrequented wilderness. This report notes that they were half a mile from the trailhead, and that the trail is “popular”:
[http://www.goerie.com/article/20121204240583](http://www.goerie.com/article/20121204240583)
The spiked ball had itsa tripwire set in a _shelter_, fer cryin’ out loud:
[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865554459/2-arrested-after-booby-traps-are-found-near-Provo-trail.html](http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865554459/2-arrested-after-booby-traps-are-found-near-Provo-trail.html)
> **[Booby traps new hazard for hikers in Utah](https://www.utahoutside.com/2012/04/booby-traps-new-hazard-for-hikers-in-utah/)**
>
> Booby traps were set on the Big Springs Trail in Provo Canyon, meant to harm or kill unsuspecting hikers. A forest service officer found them before anyone got hurt.
Video of the traps in action (!)
> **[2 arrested for setting booby traps near hiking trail](https://www.ksl.com/article/20091241/2-arrested-for-setting-booby-traps-near-hiking-trail)**
>
> Two men were arrested Saturday after allegedly
> rigging booby traps near a trail in South Fork
> Canyon.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/15 "2012-04-24T13:14:43Z")
I wonder if they were after someone in particular.
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/16 "2012-04-24T13:21:11Z")
If the local legal system can’t come up with something that will net these idiots some actual jail time I’d say the laws on the books need some updating and or the local prosecutors need to be a bit more creative/zealous.
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/17 "2012-04-24T13:29:23Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#):
>
> The fuckers claimed it was meant for “wildlife”. A spiked boulder at Human head height was meant for “wildlife”. Unless they have velociraptors in the area, I don’t buy that at all.
Don’t believe everything Spielberg tells you. A raptor’s head would be about knee-height on a human.
I’d still like to see half a dozen of them chow down on those fuckers.
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### Author:  [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/18 "2012-04-24T13:29:51Z")
> [@constanze](#):
>
> Also, a trap along a hiking trail was once used in a crime novel of the Anna Pigeon series. I wonder if they read that book and thought “good idea” or just watched some Rambo/ played some video games.
Somehow, I don’t see either of these guys reading an Anna Pigeon novel.
---
### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/19 "2012-04-24T15:01:40Z")
> [@tdn](#):
>
> Don’t believe everything Spielberg tells you. A raptor’s head would be about knee-height on a human.
>
> I’d still like to see half a dozen of them chow down on those fuckers.
Although curiously enough _Utahraptors_ (!!) were about the size of the Velociraptors in that movie.
Appropriate, kinda.
> **[Utahraptor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utahraptor)**
>
> Utahraptor (meaning "Utah's predator") is a genus of large dromaeosaurid (a group of feathered carnivorous theropods) dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period from around 139 to 135 million years ago in what is now the United States. The genus was described in 1993 by American paleontologist James Kirkland and colleagues with the type species Utahraptor ostrommaysi, based on fossils that had been unearthed earlier from the Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah. Later, many additional...
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/20 "2012-04-24T15:38:24Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> Although curiously enough _Utahraptors_ (!!) were about the size of the Velociraptors in that movie.
> Appropriate, kinda.
That explains a lot.
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