diff --git a/components/navigation/PageSectionNav.tsx b/components/navigation/PageSectionNav.tsx
index 9ab24d5..9289a3d 100644
--- a/components/navigation/PageSectionNav.tsx
+++ b/components/navigation/PageSectionNav.tsx
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ type PageSectionNavProps = {
 export function PageSectionNav({ items, className, offset = 96 }: PageSectionNavProps) {
   const [activeId, setActiveId] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [isSticky, setIsSticky] = useState(false);
+  const [canScrollLeft, setCanScrollLeft] = useState(false);
   const [canScrollRight, setCanScrollRight] = useState(false);
   const observerRef = useRef<IntersectionObserver | null>(null);
   const navRef = useRef<HTMLElement>(null);
@@ -85,13 +86,16 @@ export function PageSectionNav({ items, className, offset = 96 }: PageSectionNav
   }, []);
 
   // Single-row strip at every width: overflow scrolls horizontally inside
-  // the nav, so the right-edge fade only makes sense while content actually
-  // extends past the visible edge — and lifts when scrolled to the end.
+  // the nav. Edge fades only make sense where content is actually clipped:
+  // the right fade lifts when scrolled to the end, and a subtler left
+  // affordance appears only once pills have scrolled off the start edge.
   useEffect(() => {
     const el = containerRef.current;
     if (!el) return;
-    const update = () =>
+    const update = () => {
       setCanScrollRight(el.scrollWidth - el.scrollLeft - el.clientWidth > 4);
+      setCanScrollLeft(el.scrollLeft > 4);
+    };
     update();
     el.addEventListener("scroll", update, { passive: true });
     const ro = new ResizeObserver(update);
@@ -181,17 +185,26 @@ export function PageSectionNav({ items, className, offset = 96 }: PageSectionNav
     >
       <div className="mx-auto max-w-6xl px-4 sm:px-6 lg:px-8">
         {/* Always one row — overflow scrolls inside the strip at every
-            width. The right-edge mask fade appears only while content
-            actually extends past the edge, so a partially visible next pill
-            reads as an intentional scroll affordance. scroll-px keeps a
-            comfortable inset when the browser scrolls a focused pill into
-            view. */}
+            width. The clip region bleeds 12px into the page gutter
+            (-mx-3/px-3), so at rest the first pill still aligns with the
+            content inset while its focus ring and approaching pills get
+            runway inside the clip; -mt-1/pt-1 gives the same headroom for
+            focus outlines above the pills. scroll-px-3 makes
+            focus-into-view land pills at that same inset. Edge fades are a
+            narrow fixed 28px mask — enough to hint that content continues,
+            never enough to wash a pill out — applied only at edges that
+            actually have clipped content. */}
         <div
           ref={containerRef}
           className={cn(
-            "scrollbar-hide flex flex-nowrap gap-2 overflow-x-auto scroll-px-4 pb-2",
-            canScrollRight &&
-              "[mask-image:linear-gradient(to_right,black_85%,transparent)]"
+            "scrollbar-hide -mx-3 -mt-1 flex flex-nowrap gap-2 overflow-x-auto scroll-px-3 px-3 pb-2 pt-1",
+            canScrollLeft && canScrollRight
+              ? "[mask-image:linear-gradient(to_right,transparent,black_28px,black_calc(100%_-_28px),transparent)]"
+              : canScrollRight
+                ? "[mask-image:linear-gradient(to_right,black_calc(100%_-_28px),transparent)]"
+                : canScrollLeft
+                  ? "[mask-image:linear-gradient(to_right,transparent,black_28px)]"
+                  : ""
           )}
         >
           {items.map(({ id, label }) => {
diff --git a/tests/e2e/interactive-content.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/interactive-content.spec.ts
index 71ae5af..a54933f 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/interactive-content.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/interactive-content.spec.ts
@@ -108,6 +108,46 @@ test("section nav stays one scrollable row at every width", async ({ page }) =>
   }
 });
 
+// Edge fades are a scroll affordance, not decoration: a narrow fade only at
+// edges that actually have clipped content, so pills never wash out at rest.
+// Computed maskImage serializes "to right" as 90deg, black as
+// rgb(0, 0, 0), and transparent as rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); the first/last stops
+// tell which edges fade.
+test("section nav fades only edges that have clipped content", async ({ page }) => {
+  await hydratedGoto(page, "/plan-your-trip");
+  // Narrow viewport guarantees the strip overflows.
+  await page.setViewportSize({ width: 390, height: 800 });
+  const row = page.locator('nav[aria-label="On this page"] > div > div');
+
+  const mask = () =>
+    row.evaluate((el) => getComputedStyle(el).maskImage);
+  const scrollRow = (x: number) =>
+    row.evaluate((el, v) => {
+      el.scrollLeft = v;
+      el.dispatchEvent(new Event("scroll"));
+    }, x);
+
+  // Start: a right fade hints at more content; the left edge is untouched.
+  // The 28px stop pins the fade to a fixed narrow band — a regression to a
+  // width-proportional fade would wash out the last pill again.
+  await expect
+    .poll(mask, "right-only fade at scroll start")
+    .toMatch(/^linear-gradient\(90deg, rgb\(0, 0, 0\).*rgba\(0, 0, 0, 0\)\)$/);
+  await expect.poll(mask, "fixed 28px fade stop").toContain("28px");
+
+  // Mid-scroll: both edges fade.
+  await scrollRow(200);
+  await expect
+    .poll(mask, "both edges fade mid-scroll")
+    .toMatch(/^linear-gradient\(90deg, rgba\(0, 0, 0, 0\).*rgba\(0, 0, 0, 0\)\)$/);
+
+  // End: the right fade lifts; only the left affordance remains.
+  await scrollRow(9999);
+  await expect
+    .poll(mask, "left-only fade at scroll end")
+    .toMatch(/^linear-gradient\(90deg, rgba\(0, 0, 0, 0\).*rgb\(0, 0, 0\) 28px\)$/);
+});
+
 test("the dive log still renders its UI when Firestore is unreachable", async ({ page }) => {
   // With the backend fully blocked (fixture default), the SDK resolves from an
   // empty offline cache — the page must render its empty state rather than
diff --git a/tests/integration/page-section-nav.test.tsx b/tests/integration/page-section-nav.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..122ffd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/page-section-nav.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+import { fireEvent, render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { PageSectionNav } from "@/components/navigation/PageSectionNav";
+
+const ITEMS = Array.from({ length: 10 }, (_, i) => ({
+  id: `section-${i}`,
+  label: `Section ${i}`,
+}));
+
+// jsdom has no layout — scrollWidth/clientWidth are 0 and nothing actually
+// clips. Mock the strip's metrics, then fire a scroll event so the
+// component recomputes its edge-fade state.
+function strip(): HTMLElement {
+  return document.querySelector(
+    'nav[aria-label="On this page"] [class*="overflow-x-auto"]'
+  ) as HTMLElement;
+}
+
+function setScrollMetrics(
+  el: HTMLElement,
+  { scrollWidth = 800, clientWidth = 400, scrollLeft = 0 } = {}
+) {
+  Object.defineProperty(el, "scrollWidth", { configurable: true, value: scrollWidth });
+  Object.defineProperty(el, "clientWidth", { configurable: true, value: clientWidth });
+  Object.defineProperty(el, "scrollLeft", {
+    configurable: true,
+    writable: true,
+    value: scrollLeft,
+  });
+  fireEvent.scroll(el);
+}
+
+describe("PageSectionNav edge treatment", () => {
+  it("stays a single scrollable row and keeps pills readable at rest", () => {
+    render(<PageSectionNav items={ITEMS} />);
+    const el = strip();
+    expect(el.className).toContain("flex-nowrap");
+    expect(el.className).toContain("overflow-x-auto");
+    // Inset inside the clip region so pills never sit flush on the clip edge.
+    expect(el.className).toContain("px-3");
+    // Focus scroll-into-view lands pills at that same inset.
+    expect(el.className).toContain("scroll-px-3");
+
+    const first = screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Section 0" });
+    first.focus();
+    expect(first).toHaveFocus();
+  });
+
+  it("shows only a right-edge fade at the start position", () => {
+    render(<PageSectionNav items={ITEMS} />);
+    const el = strip();
+    setScrollMetrics(el, { scrollLeft: 0 });
+    // Mask present, but the gradient starts opaque — nothing fades left.
+    expect(el.className).toContain("mask-image:linear-gradient(to_right,black");
+    // Fixed 28px stop, not a width-proportional fade that washes out pills.
+    expect(el.className).toContain("black_calc(100%_-_28px)");
+  });
+
+  it("shows both edge affordances while scrolled mid-strip", () => {
+    render(<PageSectionNav items={ITEMS} />);
+    const el = strip();
+    setScrollMetrics(el, { scrollLeft: 150 });
+    // Gradient opens transparent (left fade) and still closes transparent.
+    expect(el.className).toContain("to_right,transparent,black");
+    expect(el.className).toMatch(/transparent\)\]/);
+    // Both fades are the fixed 28px stops.
+    expect(el.className).toContain("black_28px,black_calc(100%_-_28px)");
+  });
+
+  it("drops the right fade at the end but keeps the left affordance", () => {
+    render(<PageSectionNav items={ITEMS} />);
+    const el = strip();
+    setScrollMetrics(el, { scrollLeft: 400 });
+    // Left fade only: opens transparent, closes opaque — nothing fades right.
+    expect(el.className).toContain("to_right,transparent,black_28px");
+    expect(el.className).not.toMatch(/transparent\)\]/);
+  });
+
+  it("paints no fades when the strip does not overflow", () => {
+    render(<PageSectionNav items={ITEMS} />);
+    const el = strip();
+    setScrollMetrics(el, { scrollWidth: 400, clientWidth: 400 });
+    expect(el.className).not.toContain("mask-image");
+  });
+});