Breaking and Exiting? (Trespassing)

TL;DR: I cut through a fence to get OUT of private property after getting ~lost on state land while working.

Context: My work involves covering a lot of rural land in a slightly lifted truck, meant for the job.

After a long day at work, where I wasn’t given good maps for the project and had to find my way “out” of the wilderness. Nothing super dangerous, just off-road territory and very sparsely populated forest for miles in every direction.

Google Maps shows some routes and lines that are possibly automatically generated, or out of date, but it’s super easy to get led astray.

I stopped working just before sunset and followed the most ‘direct’ road (calling it a road is generous) toward the highway, for the better part of an hour. When I got there, there as a barbed wire farmer’s style fence between me and the highway.

I was exhausted and the sun had long set, and backtracking would surely add another 20-45min to my day. The shortest path to the highway was blocked by a fenced electric substation property.

There was an outer barbed wire fence, and an inner full-height chain link, topped with razor wire. The gate in front of me was unlocked with a “No Trespassing” sign.

I knew from satellite imagery that I could get through the property without engaging the chain link at all, where most of the equipment was. There were only some green transformers and wooden power poles in the area I traversed. I opened the first gate, drove through, and shut it behind me. I made it through the property and over to what looked like a county road, excited to be finally free. I headed down the road and at the end…. found a vehicle gate, locked. There were many different locks on it, for which I obviously didn’t have any keys. I considered my options and looked around. To one side was some more barbed wire fencing, so I grabbed some tin snips from the truck, cut the three lines of barbed wire fence, and drove around the locked gate and didn’t look back 😬

I feel bad for trespassing and “breaking and exiting” — I wish there were an easier way (or that I had the honour and values to go around without trespassing) but I was so done with the day after my hellish hour of off-roading out…

The facility seemed pretty low security so I’m decently sure of the absence of trail cams or CCTV.

I thought about anonymously letting them know, but I don’t think I am willing to reach out and pay for the fence repair. Sorry!