At a campsite on the ridge between Escondido Tarns and Waptus River, Mile 2422

Today was 13 miles and 3500 feet net gain. There’s definitely a trend here: up a ridge, down a ridge, up a ridge, and so on. I was to learn that Section J is considered the toughest section of the trail. The raw stats are 72 miles and 19K feet, but like any trail stats it doesn’t take the tread into consideration. I don’t know about “toughest,” as I’ve also heard that Section K is the “second toughest on the entire trail.” But J is certainly a challenge.

A side note: The PCT is broken into sections. These are mostly based on ease of access, e.g. Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass. California, with nearly 1700 miles of trail, has Sections A-R.  Oregon and Washington, with just under 1000 miles, re-start at A and continue to L.  Last year, I hiked the lion’s share of Washington Section H; it is my goal this year to finish H, and continue on through I, J, K, and L.

Anyway, I broke camp, tanked up at the little spring just past the falls, and got a couple of pictures. It’s really a lovely place.

The first several miles were a slow ascent, and then in the afternoon I began the real climb up toward the Escondido Tarns. I discovered that listening to podcasts really helps me going up the ridges. They’re engaging, and there’s no competition between the beat of the music and the ever-changing rhythm of my feet as the trail gets more or less steep.

I reached the crest later in the afternoon, and the wind had turned cold. I wasn’t wearing an insulation layer, because I’d been climbing, but crossing the ridge and beginning the slow descent to the tarns proved to be a bit nippy. I should have refilled at the first (much clearer) tarn, but alas, I gave my filter a workout at the second.

With insulation layer in place, end-of-the-day fatigue beginning to set in, and with a long but gentle descent in front of me, I headed down the trail. My goal was a campsite on the ridge, before the descent to Waptus River. I kept the podcasts going, and arrived at my destination a little before 8:00.

There were a small handful of campsites nestled together, and a party of three had claimed the first two spots. They were very welcoming. One of them was busy putting together a Backpacker’s Pantry cheesecake mix, and said I was more than welcome to share when it was finished. I said that would be a great treat, as tomorrow was my birthday, and it’s always good to celebrate early.

Anyway, after I’d set up camp and eaten my stroganoff, they came over singing Happy Birthday, dear Rest Step! I was grinning all over…how cool was that? And hearing my trail name just plain makes me smile.

*Photo credit: mbtigger