Rescue teams succeeded in getting Google Maps to remove a trail that didn’t exist after a handful of rescues like this one. Photo: North Shore Rescue//Facebook
A Canadian search-and-rescue organization called North Shore Rescue (NSR) succeeded in something they’ve been trying to accomplish for a while now. They got Google to remove a trail from Google Maps. Why, you ask? Because the trail didn’t actually exist and people, in all their infinite wisdom, kept on blindly following their phones until they were hopelessly lost and required rescue.
The North Shore mountains, just outside of Vancouver, Canada, are stunningly pretty. The southernmost end of the range looks down on Vancouver, and the steep slopes are a big part of the area’s magic. If you’ve visited the North Shore, you’ve seen how the spread of residential neighborhoods are stopped in their tracks by rugged forested areas too steep to build on. They also play a big role in the communities that call the area home, providing a sprawling network of trails for hiking and mountain biking. Those trails are a big tourist draw, but in the last few months, rescue crews have had to use helicopters and rope teams to extract lost hikers from the trail-that-did-not-exist.
The area where the rescues occurred is just to the east of a little ski hill called Grouse Mountain, heading north towards the summit of Mount Fromme. North Shore Rescue described the terrain in that particular part of the mountains as “extremely steep and dangerous.”
Two years ago, a hiker fell to his death there, and the problem has been getting worse since. NSR reached out to Google about the problem after they rescued another hiker in October, but received no response. Then, just last week, crews had to drop into an area on ropes because low-lying clouds limited the helicopter’s movements. They were able to pull a lost hiker out, who had also been following Google Maps. Now, though, Google has responded.
“This morning NSR received word that our Google Map request has been processed and the non-existent trail north of Fromme has been deleted,” said NSR in a social media post. “Thanks to Google for the update!”
It’s not known for certain how, exactly, the trail came to be on Google Maps, but it’s been on NSR’s radar for quite some time now.
“On Google Maps someone put a trail where there wasn’t a trail,” B.C. Search and Rescue Association senior manager Dwight Yochim told the CBC. “So, people looking for ways to get up to various mountains [that] had never taken that trail, off they go. And it’s a major bushwhack with extremely steep, dangerous areas that just leads people into trouble.”
While Google Maps is a helpful app for finding your way from point A to point B, especially on the road, it’s not really meant for hiking. Yochim recommends other apps that are specifically made for outdoor recreation, like AllTrails, Gaia, or Strava. His favorite method, however, is a little more traditional.
“I really like the map and compass,” he said. “My map has never run out of batteries.”
