Localized solutions, for the classical problem of the nonlinear strut (elastica) on the linear elastic foundation, are predicted from double-scale analysis, and confirmed from nonlinear volume-preserving Runge-Kutta runs. The dynamical phase-space analogy introduces a spatial Lagrangian function, valid over the initial post-buckling range, with kinetic and potential energy components. The indefinite quadratic form of the spatial kinetic energy admits unbounded solutions, corresponding to escape from a potential well. Numerical experimentation demonstrates that there is a fractal edge to the escape boundary, resulting in spatial chaos.