Community driven mapping

people standing on a wooden bridge while reading a map

Note from the future: This post was written in 2011 and a lot has changed since then. This post is about how many of the trail maps we use on Gaia and FATMAP were put there by volunteers like me entering data after a hike!

Original post:

I’m a big map-nerd. My office is just covered in backcountry maps of places I’ve been and want to go.  So, I was refreshing my deskop background with a new screenshot of the Sooke Hills from the awesome open-source, community driven Open Cycle maps project … as I often do … and holy cow!  New trails!!!!

Several  months ago, I uploaded GPS coordinates and created trails to Sugar Loaf & Ragged Mountain, which was almost the only thing going on in this section. Now there are SO MANY places I haven’t been yet!

What I love about this open-source map is that anyone can upload data and create new trails. Open Cycle now far exceeds the level of details of mountains of any of the printed maps I’ve found in the library or online. Community driven mapping rules.

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