Discussion: mtb trails

I almost think the map would be better [with mtb trails] left off

somehow sounds a whole lot better than

Luckily I found a faint deer path through the green ...

which was me yesterday. ;-)

As a mapper I have a tendency to downplay small trails in these kinds of situations. borderline distinct / indistinct small trails are mapped as indistinct. And clearly indistinct small trails are left off the map. The way the trails come and go the map should last longer that way before needing significant trail updates. It also encourages orienteers to not overly rely and trails that come and go in the terrain. For experienced orienteers it should be a more enjoyable experience and for less experienced orienteers it should be a less frustrating experience in that they only see the trails they can truly rely on.

Sounds like you had a swell time in Carolina

Is that an airport between 4 and 5?

Yes, Horace Williams Airport, but closed two years ago (note X's on the Google aerial view). Was to have been used to build a satellite campus of the University of North Carolina (which owns the land), but that plan died due to economics. Now is intended to be used for a solar energy farm.

BOK seems to like maps with airports. One of their longest-standing and most used maps, Umstead Park, is right by a major airport, RDU.

@Canadian,

No these are permanent distinct trails in a dense (the whole area is at least 1st green) forest, they must be mapped.
The issue with mapping those trails was they were straightened, when in fact they run zigzag. There is a way to show it on the map: you expect to cross them, but often you do not want to use them. Also it looks like they were not georeferenced, I had real trouble to adjust my track to match what I saw around me.

@yurets: the map and trails are georeferenced. Trails in the south near the clear-cut areas were hastily added last Winter, and new trails have since evolved. I agree that it would not have been unwarranted to provide a course note about their status.

In the future, writing the mapper directly (even if unsolicited) with specific areas that you found problematic would be much more effective, appreciated, polite, and human than unsubstantiated potshots about mapping quality in a public forum. BOK will have a couple of events later this year on new maps of mine – please think seriously about skipping them if you anticipate having nothing positive to say about the effort involved in creating them.

@David_Waller, the intent was not to criticize the mapping, but to respond to some perceived peculiarity of this rather unusual terrain and the way it was reflected on the map. Still I edited my post, slightly.

This seemingly easy terrain is in reality rather challenging for a mapper (compare to classical Piedmont type). The lidar contours here do not give you much, a lot of interpretive work requiring high level of skills is involved. So I do have respect and appreciation for whoever attempted the project.

The "straightening" of the trails did happen, I am not blind. Just a guess, this has to do with the sampling rate of whatever device was used to record the data. Drafting such a trail stressing its highly curvy nature is suggested.