Let's go to Catalina Island (to map)!

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/c/f/600_453422511.jpeg

UPDATE: We're having a planning night Thursday, Sept. 15 (https://www.meetup.com/MaptimeLA/events/233988960/). Please attend if you want to go on the Catalina trip.

Join us for a weekend of camping, mapping and collecting 360 photos on Santa Catalina Island. We want to improve the data on the island and give them "street view" via Mapillary (https://www.mapillary.com/). Never walked around and added points to OpenStreetMap before but always wanted to? This is just for you: Please ONLY RSVP if you're interested. We'll plan the event based on the number of folks who RSVP "yes."

By day we'll split into teams and do things like:

• add and verify addresses

• add businesses and attributes like opening_hours and accessibility

• add plant species, trails, benches and other features at the Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden (https://www.catalinaconservancy.org/index.php?s=visit&p=wrigley_memorial_and_botanic_garden)

• add any new buildings and address map notes (https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=16/33.3385/-118.3298&layers=N) and fixmes

• add historic buildings and markers

• walk/bike/golf-cart the streets of Avalon with 360 cameras to upload photos to Mapillary (https://www.mapillary.com/)

• teach locals how to edit OpenStreetMap and make maps from the data

• teach locals how to add to and use Mapillary

• ...and pretty much anything else we want to map!!!

How we'll get there: We'll take the Blue Line down to Long Beach and take a 15 minute walk to the Catalina Island Express terminal. Then we'll take the 1-hour boat ride to the island. We can leave at different times depending when folks are ready. It'd be helpful to have some people go early to organize the camp before sunset.

Where we'll stay: We'll camp at the Hermit Gulch Campground (https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/1124321246). If you’ve never camped before, this is the best spot: it is only 2 miles away from the ferry terminal in Avalon. The plan is to pack lightly. Just what you'll need for camping: sleeping bag, tent, clothes and water. Don’t have a sleeping bag or tent? Let us know and we’ll try to get sponsors. Dinner (pizza) will be provided, which we can get in town. The island has two smaller grocery stores and should be entering the start of its slower, winter season. If camping isn't your thing, we'll try to organize a hotel room. That'll cost more, but we want to be as inclusive as possible.

How much it may cost: $120 per person. That includes the roundtrip ferry ($72 per person) and the campsite ($24/person/per night). HOWEVER, we want this to be inclusive (in the Maptime spirit!) so we're working on a sponsor. Please make sure to fill out the form below to confirm your RSVP. Our hope is that no one will have to pay for the ferry or camping (or pizza dinner)! But we need to gauge interest.

Do you have local contacts or helpful resources? Contact MaptimeLA organizers if you have contacts on the island. We're looking for sponsors, locals, maps and ideas. Send them our way!

The undated map above was prepared by the Santa Catalina Island Company and found in the Los Angeles Times reference map archive.