I need some time to process all that I saw and all that happened in my two days of running Section J Southbound on the PCT. I hope to get a detailed post up within the week, but meanwhile, I thought I post briefly with some highlights of my two favorite sites.
The smoke from the wildfires impeded the views entirely, but I still found beauty along the way. In particular, I loved the beginning of the climb to Pieper Pass on the first day, which was switchbacks through granite. The soil was white granite sand, so the trail was white and it was surrounded by white granite boulders. It was pristine. At the floor of the climb, the rocks were dotted with heather and other wildflowers, as well as some short evergreens.
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| As I approach the climb to Pieper Pass, I turned to look back (north) at what I had just run. From here, the trail switchbacks up to the left (west) through a huge granite-covered slope. |
The other area that I loved was on the second day as I began the climb out of the Waptus River basin to Chikamin Ridge. There was a section of burnt forest (Waptus Burn area) with purple fireweed blooming amongst the silver trees with a backdrop of a granite wall.
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| The burned trees here still had their bark, but a short while later, the bark gave way to silvered wood, and pearly everlasting was the more common wildflower. |
It was the hardest physical challenge I have ever undertaken. Heck, Saturday was the longest, hardest run I've ever done (47.5 miles), and then the next day I got up and ran a marathon (27.5 miles)! I am very, very sore today. Much more to follow.
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