It looks like National Forests and "gun free" National Parks are increasingly becoming a battle ground for the war on drugs. Now police are warning hikers to be cautious of their surroundings, lest they stumble onto an illegal growing field.

...his point was to say that if a hiker had stumbled upon the kind of marijuana farm that officials shut down in the Coconino National Forest earlier this week near Strawberry, there may have been a tragedy.

Police had observed a person patrolling the area with an assault rifle, Charlton said.

Charlton said armed guards often are paid to protect marijuana farms, and an unwary hiker could lose his or her life.

"If you stumble across one of these places, back out the same way you came in and report it to authorities," Charlton said.