Volunteer trail worker for Ventana Wilderness Alliance (VWA), the non-profit association dedicated to preserving the Big Sur Ventana and Silver Peak Wilderness areas

Minor claims to Big Sur mapping fame:

  • 2009:  began mapping entire trail network of Ventana/SilverPeak Wilderness areas (trails, use trails, camps, etc.) since:
                • Many trail and camp locations were incorrect on maps, including USFS maps, leading hikers (including me) astray
                • Many trails were overgrown and unused so would become "lost" if not mapped soon (and some have indeed now become "lost")

  • 2010:  created bigsurtrailmap.net website to promulgate accurate maps and information to Big Sur hikers, providing maps in a variety of formats to fit different hiker preferences, and notably creating a color-coded interactive map depicting current wilderness trail conditions

  • 2012:  wrote National Geographic to point out egregious errors in their original Big Sur "Trails Illustrated" Map (which was based upon USFS data), which led to those maps being recalled (to NatGeo's credit) and later replaced with a revised version corrected by VWA

  • 2013:  worked with Green Trails Maps to create a Big Sur hiking map including locally-known features such as use trails (not shown on other maps), with acknowledged personal credit and bigsurtrailmap.net website recognition

  • 2019:  worked with Wilderness Press to create a Big Sur hiking map including locally-known features such as use trails (not shown on other maps), with acknowledged personal credit and bigsurtrailmap.net website recognition

  • 2021:  released my Ventana/SilverPeak trail mapping data to the USFS

  • 2024:  after vetting that mapping data, the USFS (finally) updated their national database, and thus the USFS Interactive Visitor Map.

  • Big Sur Trailmap users have written these user experiences and testimonials (gathered from other websites)