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U.S. Forest Service : national database USFS vetted and incorporated into their 2024 national database my corrections of their trail/camp data (from personally hiking & GPSing every National Forest trail), as used by the USFS Interactive Visitor Map. |
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Big Sur Station manager, Tim Bills : USFS/StateParks information center "Big Sur Trailmap helps me do my job every day !" |
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Norcal Hiking Reddit : Big Sur/Ventana Wilderness Water sources [September 2024] "I used to live in big sur. Jack Glendening's website is superb" |
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Wilderness Backpacking Reddit : Need Recommendations for Backpacking Trip in California [April 2024] "I trust the trail conditions page on bigsurtrailmap.net" |
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VWA Trail Report : Gamboa Trail [April 2024] "I lost the trail several times and spent a lot of the hike following the line on my GPS. I was really glad that I had the track that I downloaded from the BigSurTrailMap.net site." |
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Norcal Hiking Reddit : Suggestions for last minute backpacking trip this upcoming weekend [April 2024] "statuses on BigSurTrailMap.net are usually pretty accurate ... I ignored a red status once and won't do that again ..." |
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Norcal Hiking Reddit : Question about hiking Cone Peak in Big Sur [June 2023] "bigsurtrailmap.net is the bible for hiking in that area." |
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Wilderness Backpacking Reddit : My first trip to Big Sur, definitely won't be my last! [March 2023] "I found this website to be very helpful in planning, particularly the trail conditions page." |
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VWA Trail Report : Ventana Double Cone Trail [May 2023] "it really, really helps having the BigSurTrailMap GPS trace on the app of your choice to help you on occasion" |
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U.S. Forest Service : Monterey Ranger District webpage [December 2022] "Ventana Wilderness: Refer to bigsurtrailmap.net for open/closed trails and trail camps" |
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Fastest Known Time : Silver Peak Circumference [November 2022] "I always recommend checking out bigsurtrailmap.net before any adventure in Big Sur because some of those trails can get quite neglected and it can be very remote." |
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Fastest Known Time : Big Sur Loop [January 2022] "As always with Big Sur, check trail conditions here (bigsurtrailmap.net/trailconditions.html) before you head out for your big mountain adventure." |
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Bob Burd trail report : Peak 4275, ... [November 2021] "I was studying Ventana trail conditions from Jack Glendening (a most valuable resource, btw), ..." |
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Norcal Hiking Reddit : Backcountry camping ideas [April 2021] "I use this website, Big Sur Trailmap - an invaluable resource for planning trips into the Ventana. I met the owner once at Big Sur Station, he was real cool." |
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Freeradical.me : The Grand Ventana Traverse [May 2021] "Jack Glendening's Big Sur Trailmap - especially with the crowd-sourced the trail conditions - is the bomb" |
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Afar ezine : How to Spend a Weekend in Big Sur, California [April 2021] "The interactive Big Sur Trail Map is a good resource: Look for trails marked yellow or green." |
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Norcal Hiking Reddit : Big Sur Overnight Recommendations? [April 2021] "I would highly recommend using this as a resource - bigsurtrailmap.net" |
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The Golden State Hiker : Three-day hike to Rainbow Camp in the Ventana Wilderness [April 2021] "A big thanks to bigsurtrailmap.net for their amazing trip-planning tool!" |
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VWA Trail Report : South Fork Trail [March 2021] "At least once it took a few minutes to discern where the trail continued, but we were helped immensely by the GPS track that is downloadable from the bigsurtrailmap.net site (thanks Jack Glendening!) ... I am very curious why the detail of trail location on any available map (except for Jack's) is so off from the actual routing? When you're unsure whether to cross the creek or not, go up the ridge or down to the creek, or whatever, it is more harm than good to rely on an incorrect map." |
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Summit Swagger : Uncle Sam Mountain from Pat Springs, Ventana Wilderness [February 2021] "One additional concern were the trail conditions ... I also found bigsurtrailmap.net to be an invaluable resource." |
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Ultralight Reddit : Big Sur overnight [August 2020] "Check out bigsurtrailmap.net - it's a real treasure trove, including trail conditions and water sources" |
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AllTrails comment : Timber Top and Boronda Trail [June 2019] "The map at bigsurtrailmap.net is a lot better and more accurate." |
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Ecency : Backpacking trip Central Coast trail and Big Sur [May 2019] "... use BigSurTrailmap.net for all your scouting needs ... When I called up the forest service they even recommended it over their map." |
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VWA Trail Report : Black Cone Trail [May 2019] "I was able to stay on course through this section only thanks to Jack Glendening's trailmap on my phone. (An indispensable resource!)" |
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Ecency : Backpacking trip, California Central coast trail and Big Sur [January 2019] "If you are interested in taking a hike in the Big Sur area use BigSurTrailmap.net for all your scouting needs ... Its an awesome website run by the most knowledgeable person for the area. When I called up the forest service they even recommended it over their map." |
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Wilderness Ranger Report : Carmel River Trail [September 2018] "After that the trail gets bad: overgrown, missing tread, trees down, lost sections of trail, numerous confusing use trails. Though Steve has travelled the trail many times we had to consult with Jack's map to figure out where to climb out of the drainage." |
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VWA Trail Report : South Fork Trail [August 2018] "Because if anyone tries to hike this section they will need to look for the flagging or have a GPS or both. And that is a GPS/map with Dr. Jack's map, not the other maps." |
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Discover Central California : Big Sur California [July 2018] "The Big Sur Trail Map site is an invaluable resource for the Big Sur trekker." |
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VWA Trail Report : South Fork Trail [June 2018] "I greatly regret not having Jack Glendening's map sources to use when trying to figure out where I was. The USGS/USFS topo has seriously erroneous route finding - zero correspondence to reality! Jack's maps are actually close to reality." |
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VWA Trail Report : Carrizo Trail [May 2018] "Lesson learned that the interactive map is more accurate than any other old map bases out there, which don't reflect the little connector trails in this area." |
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Leor Pantilat's Adventures : Return to Ventana Double Cone [January 2018] "In present conditions it makes sense to bring a GPX of the route available at BigSurTrailMap.net" |
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Wilderness Backpacking Reddit : Big Sur [May 2017] scott113341: "This hands-down the best resource for planning Big Sur trips: bigsurtrailmap.net" BrrRva: "Yeah I looked there, I wish every park had a interactive system like that." |
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Spruce Creek Trail Survey : 04-22-2017 [Apr 2017] "There is zero chance I would have been able to stay on the trail if not for a map printed from bigsurtrailmap.net. I'd have lost the trail in the meadows and not followed the sharp left before Turkey Sprs. But if you know where the trail is supposed to be, you can find it." |
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The Californist : The Big Sur - A Comprehensive Guide [June 2016] "The true authority on Big Sur hikes is BigSurTrailmap.net ..." |
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VWA Trail Report : Cone Peak Trail [Feb 2016] "I could not find the trail from the summit that was supposed to lead directly to Cone Peak Campground that was on my map from CalTopo.com, so I ended up having to stay the night at the junction of Cone Peak Road and Cone Peak Trail. That trail was not on the BigSurTrailmap.net map, so for those planning a trip around here its safer to rely solely on this map." |
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VWA Forum : Hiking for 8 days in Big Sur: seeking areas of concern/advice [Dec 2015] "Lastly, I'd recommend a GPS. Some of the overgrown areas are hard to navigate because the trail will simply vanish. With Jack's GPS map loaded you can at least follow the lines and get close enough to continue moving forward. Those maps on my Garmin have saved me more than once. Before the Garmin I spent way too much time wandering around looking for tread or any hint of a trail or pushing through a section in the most inefficient way possible. That is pretty painful. VWA does a great job keeping trails clear, but they do disappear quick as you get further away from trailheads." |
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Norcal Hiking Reddit : Another suggestion request ... [September 2015] "This is the ultimate Big Sur resource. I've spent hours/days on that site." |
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Santa Cruz Hardcore Hikers : Lost Valley Backpack [May 2015] Eric: "I learned some great lessons on this trip. (1) From here on forward I will be bringing a GPS with Dr Jack's tracks loaded on it and having it readily accessible to refer to. For those that didn't go I ended up getting behind and having lost the trail and bush whacked down the last stretch down to the Lost Valley." Rich: "good advice. the lost valley connector was tough to follow at times." Tom N: "Yes Jacks maps! I led us off the lost valley connector trail because I didn't have them" Rich: "everyone should have Jacks maps loaded on the Gaia app on their smart phone. I make every effort possible to regroup but if someone is far behind and loses the trail its good to know how to get back on track." |
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Pete's Backcountry Adventures : Carmel River Trail [February 2015] "Lesson learned: ... don't always trust the base map for gps or the even paper map. Both show the trail in a different place than it was. They both also showed several river crossings that were inaccurate. After getting home, I downloaded the Big Sur-specific [bigsurtrailmap.net] base map for Basecamp that proved to be much more accurate than any of the maps I had, both paper and digital" |
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VWA Trail Report : Mt. Manuel Trail [January 2015] "It was hot and my dog and I needed water so I decided to venture off trail and look for the Golden Stairs Spring. Found it and it was running very well with cool, refreshing, great tasting water. What a god send! Thanks Jack for putting that on the maps. No possible way to know it was there otherwise. GPS coordinates were spot on!" |
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Backpacking Light : Cone Peak Loop [January 2015] "Thanks to Jack Glendening for putting together an excellent online map Big Sur Trail Map of the Big Sur area with printing capabilities. We took a chance and decided to head back down Cone Peak about .75mi to pick up a use trail over to Twin Peak, bypassing the Gamboa trail. The beginning of the use trail was not obvious, but we left the trail right where Mr. Glendening's map shows to and the use trail became clear about 15 yards in." |
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Reddit : Going camping at Big Sur ... [February 2013] "There's a pretty badass map of the area provided at bigsurtrailmap.net. As an owner of many USGS quads and the Trails Illustrated Map of the area, I can't recommend the above link enough. I've never seen a paper map worth taking out there for the trail info, as it's all wrong." |
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VWA Trail Report : Big Pines Camp [February 2013] "There is a marker showing the junction to Big Pines Camp, but I never would have found the camp itself without Jack's Big Sur Trail Map and a GPS ... The trail down to the camp quickly disappeared but the GPS got me to the area of the camp. I was standing about five feet away from the camp's fire grate but it was so overgrown it may as well have been invisible until I looked down and spotted it. Big Pines is becoming a lost camp." |