We were out in the Coast Range of the Cascade mountains. Just cruising logging roads and doing some shooting. A common weekend outing for us.
This is a favorite stop and have a sandwich spot.
This is Private, not Federally managed, timberland owned by Roseburg Timber Co.
It is very common for private timber company as well as Forest Service roads to be blocked to prevent access by motorized vehicles. This is a stop gap to prevent erosion and forest fires in vulnerable areas.
Note the 10-12' high by 25-30' square "slash pile" dozed up to block access. They have also dug out a "tank trap", 20-30' across and 10-15' deep to make sure. They dug it so deeply, that a nearby natural stream was diverted and now runs through it. Approximately 10-12' across and 4' deep.
After all of the time and expense to block the road. They install a very well engineered vandal proof, expensive gate. Redundancy at it's zenith.
And then they realize that they may need access to the area for fire crews, in the event of a fire.
So, they sure don't want anybody parked in the way, just in case.
Ever wonder why lumber and timber products are so expensive? A great example of Timber Dollars at work.