Hunters, hikers, and anyone else visiting Pennsylvania’s State Game Lands 305 are being warned to watch where they step. The paths and trails that crisscross the area could be booby trapped.

A strip of wooden board, complete with metal screws fastened into it and pointed upward, was recently discovered on a walking trail. Local news station NBC4 reported that the makeshift spike strip was found by a hiker and appeared to have been placed intentionally, either to harm people, animals, equipment, or all of the above.

The game land is located in South Middleton Township, roughly half an hour from Harrisburg. While officials continue their investigation into who placed the strip, they are also looking for additional strips elsewhere on the game land. The most terrifying part: State Game Lands 305 is comprised of 730 surveyed acres, all of which are suspect after the initial find.

Pennsylvania is a bastion of deer hunting, but 305 is also open to turkey hunters and trappers, making today as dangerous for walking as this fall will be. Hikers, bicyclers, birders, and horseback riders also share the land with hunters. The famed Appalachian Trail runs along the eastern edge of 305, bringing untold numbers onto the area’s trails each year.

Much of the land (99 percent) is covered in hardwoods and Virginia pine, thickly carpeting the forest floor with leaves and needles — and making the saboteur’s efforts that much more effective.

If SCD readers have any information regarding the case, contact the commission’s Southcentral Regional Office at (814) 643-1831.