Two marine scientists crossed under the Scripps Pier on Tuesday, two days away from completing a 1,200-mile hike to help build a smartphone app for navigating the California Coastal Trail.
Morgan Visalli and Jocelyn Enevoldsen are collecting photos, videos and GPS data for a smartphone app under development by the California Coastal Conservancy.
The two managed 12 miles a day, camping along the way at state parks. They skirted top-secret Vandenberg Air Force Base on bicycles and took a shortcut by walking over the Golden Gate Bridge. The 96-day journey comes to an end Thursday at Border Field State Park.
“We’ve been reaching out to the communities we’ve seen along the way,” said Enevoldsen, adding that they marveled at the “spontaneous generosity” of people providing food and opening their homes.
Along the way they saw extensive coastal wildlife, including the annual grey whale migration.
The trail from the Oregon to the Mexican border was mandated by a 1972 ballot proposition and is two-thirds complete. A short segment through Scripps Institution of Oceanography opened last year.
Julia Elkin of the coastal conservancy said that with the data collected by the two scientists, “We’re going to build an app that let’s all Californians access the coastal trail.”
Asked what the two will do next, Enevoldsen quickly replied, “We’re going to keep beach walking.”
