JOHN GASTALDO / Union-Tribune
Paul Longton and hiking partner Nancy Imbertson endured the rigors of the Pacific Crest Trail and completed their journey Saturday night.
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Pacific Crest Trail hikers finish 2,650-mile odyssey
Sept. 13 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Editor's note: This is the ninth and final story in a series following North County hikers Paul Longton and Nancy Imbertson along the Pacific Crest Trail.
MANNING PROVINCIAL PARK, British Columbia – His hat splattered with mud, Paul Longton leaned on his trekking poles and considered how he felt.
ETNA, Aug. 29 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Tales from the trail: Nancy Imbertson was deep into her banana cream pie when Big Sexy Mama walked up to the table at a diner in this small town near the Oregon border.
July 30 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
'Trail magic' buoys hikers: Editor's note: This is the seventh in an occasional series of stories following two North County residents as they hike the Pacific Crest Trail.
July 20 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Trail trekkers pass a mountainous milestone: Buzz and Izzy are halfway there. The North County hikers have logged 1,371 miles in their journey from Campo to Canada on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail.
SIERRAS, June 26 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
N. County hikers keep step ahead of injuries: Haul a heavy pack for 20 miles up and over mountains, from sunup to sunset day after day, and it's bound to take a toll on a body.
SAN GORGONIO PASS, May 16 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Distance hikers battle blisters, bad water before taking break: By the time they descended into the San Gorgonio Pass, he had developed his first blister, she had paid the price of drinking unfiltered water, and their thermometer had hit 108 degrees.
WARNER SPRINGS, May 2 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
7 days down -- 5 months to go: If this were one of their usual hikes, Paul Longton and Nancy Imbertson would by now have gotten home, washed away the trail's grime, slept in clean sheets and awakened to machine-brewed coffee.
CAMPO, April 24 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Great hike north begins on Pacific Crest Trail: Finally, the day they had been waiting for. The start of a five-month odyssey on the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,650-mile trek from the Mexican border to Canada, began yesterday for Nancy Imbertson of Encinitas and Paul Longton of Oceanside.
April 23 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Long, winding road ahead for local hikers: It's been called the Mount Everest of backpacking, a grueling five-month march through broiling desert and mountain peaks, a test of endurance most will fail.
LAKE WENATCHEE, Wash., March 28 (AP)
Tough detour awaits Pacific Crest Trail hikers: Hikers traveling the Pacific Crest Trail between Mexico and Canada may find the toughest going in central Washington this summer.
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| The Trek |
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| The Goal |
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To conquer the entire 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail – the Mount Everest of backpacking – a grueling five-month march from the Mexican border to Canada, through broiling desert and over mountain peaks.
On April 23, two hikers, Paul Longton of Oceanside and Nancy Imbertson of Encinitas, took the first of 6 million steps to reach Manning Provincial Park in British Columbia by September.
| The hikers |
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Name: Nancy Imbertson
Trail name: Izzy
Age: 40
Occupation: co-owner of construction business
Home: Encinitas
Height: 5 feet 5 inches
Weight: 111 pounds
Pack: 35 pounds
 Read Nancy's journal
Name: Paul Longton
Trail name: Buzz
Age: 55
Occupation: architect
Home: Oceanside
Height: 5 feet 9 inches
Weight: 150 pounds
Pack: 35 pounds
Read Paul's trail journal
| The coverage |
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The San Diego Union-Tribune is following their progress on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail.
The writer:
Elizabeth Fitzsimons
(760) 737-7578
e-mail
The photographer:
John Gastaldo
e-mail
| Related links |
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Hikers send dispatches and photos to personal pages on an Internet journal site.
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