Hello! I’m a resident of Metro Vancouver that’s interested in hiking, trail running, whitewater/sea kayaking, gravel/mountain biking, rock/ice climbing, canyoneering, and paragliding.

Current projects:

1. Átl’ka7tsem / Howe Sound region
2. Salmon habitat restoration projects
3. Bicycle parking
4. Fraser Canyon region

My main contributions to date have been:

1. Walking, Hiking, and Cycling Trails and Resource Roads
2. Waterfalls
3. Emergency Shelters, Fire Lookouts, and (well known) Cabins
4. Rec Sites, Rec Reserve, and Conservation Area Boundaries
5. Paragliding takeoffs, landings, and wind socks
6. Rock & Ice Climbing Crags and Routes
7. Campsites and Camp Pitches
8. Misc. Park Amenities (bathrooms, fountains, picnic tables, etc.)
9. Mountain Peaks, Passes (saddles), Pinnacles, and Ridges
10. Natural landscape (specifically aimed at mountain or water navigation)
11. Rural properties
12. Bicycle racks

My motivations:

1. Have a public record of the world that is not controlled by a corporation, government, or special interest group
2. Promote outdoor recreational activities
3. Remove barriers to outdoor recreational activities
4. Protect areas from commercial development
5. Ensure emergency services have an accurate map

My research methods and common tags

For most trails that I add I do extensive research from over a dozen sources to ensure correct naming of features and points of interest. I’ll often add the sac_scale, trail_visibility, trailblazed, assisted_trail, informal, access, description, and note tags to further safety. The main sources I use are my own surveys, satellite imagery, the Strava heatmap, NRCAN’s HRDEM Lidar dataset, LidarBC, and the BC Data Catalogue.

Regarding “informal” tag

I follow the best practices guidelines proposed by the OSM US Trails Working Group.

osm.wiki/United_States/Trail_Access_Project

Regarding “secret” features

I understand some may believe the features I have added are “secret”. OSM’s policy is to map what is on the ground, aka the Ground Truth policy, and does not remove features, such as trails, for subjective, arbitrary, or political reasons.

More information can be found at the wiki article below.

osm.wiki/Why_can%27t_I_delete_this_trail%3F

If you believe a feature should still be removed then please contact the Data Working Group

osm.wiki/Data_Working_Group

If you notice a problem with one of my edits

I encourage to not worry about what I’ll think and to do the change that you think is best but please do not delete features unless you’re certain there is an error. Some trails/routes/resource roads might be in bad shape or overgrown and I would recommend updating the lifecycle prefix (adding disused or abandoned) and modifying the trail_visibility tag rather than deleting the trail/route entirely.

If you like my edits and want to support my work

I encourage you to donate to an outdoor organization of your choosing. Some I recommend are the BC Mountain Foundation, Nature Trust of BC, BC Parks Foundation, Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Foundation, Hope Mountain Centre for Outdoor Learning, BC Marine Trails, Chilliwack Parks Society, North Shore Mountain Biking Association, Fraser Valley Mountain Biking Association, and Squamish Access Society to name a few.