UNITY — One of the most diverse and challenging long-distance hiking trails in the world, the Pacific Crest Trail, will be the subject of a lecture/slide show presented by Peter Marbach at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 29. The public is invited to attend the event, which will be held at the Unity Elementary School under sponsorship of Unity College.

Marbach and his wife, Lorena Sprager, hiked the national scenic trail, which ranges from 145 feet above sea level at the Columbia River to the high point of 13,180 feet at Forester Pass in the High Sierras, from June through November 1989. He will describe some of the finest scenery in America, including the Cascade Mountain Range, the High Sierras and the Mojave Desert.

An avid and able hiker, Marbach has hiked 5,000 miles in the last three years — every mile for a cause. In 1987, he hiked the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail to benefit the Refugee Resettlement Program in Portland; in 1988, he traversed the length of Great Britain to promote the 40th anniversary of the Winant-Clayton International Exchange Program, one that sends Americans to England and Scotland to work with the poor, elderly and handicapped for a summer; and in 1989, he did the 2,600-mile hike being described on March 29, to benefit Central American refugees.

A question-and-answer period will follow. General admission will be $5. Unity College is a small independent, non-profit institution offering academic programs with an environmental focus.