The Chinese Wall in Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana is one of the best hikes in the world.

Why? hiking guidebook 2001 hiking guidebook 2002 travel guidebook 2004 hike Rockies 160x600	World > North America > Rockies > Chinese Wall One of the best hikes in the world is the CHINESE WALL Do you know this hike? This page is a stub you can expand by emailing suggestions in the appropriate sections below. Our editors will add your comments. Thanks! The red dot is BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS. AT A GLANCE the Wall is a 22mi (35.4km) cliff escarpment hike is60mi (96.6km) plus side trips 5-7 days recommended best months late June-Oct 1st medium difficulty hiking WHY WE LIKE THIS HIKE Planning a trip to walk beneath a unique 1000ft-high outcropping is a great excuse to travel to gorgeous Montana. rugged peaks, lovely lakes and streams, waterfalls, alpine meadows no hiking or backcountry camping permit required it's a semi-loop starting and finishing at the same spot great tough sidetrip to Prairie Reef Fire Lookout wildflowers late June to early August, especially bear grass! chance to see elk, mule deer, moose, mountain goats & bighorn sheep slight chance to spot black or grizzly bears (or their muddy footprints) crossing the continental divide hike the North Circle in Glacier National Park on the same trip we love the nearby Going-to-the-Sun highway ... add a comment here Chinese Wall CONSIDERATIONS Grizzlies like the Bob even better than we do. Be bear aware or do not hike here. elevations range between 4,000 - 9,000ft biting insects (including ticks in the early season) bring binoculars or a high powered zoom lens for observing animals and birds it's Montana so you may be run over by horse traffic trails can be boggy and chopped up, especially in June some days are very hot in the middle of summer though it can snow any day of the year too late Aug through Sept are the best weeks, most years ... add a comment here ROUTES Lonely Planet Hiking in the Rocky Mountains lays out the standard route. start and finish at Benchmark trailhead, 31mi from Augusta there is USFS administration and a campground there if you want to overnight before you start hiking ... add a comment here LOGISTICS our gateway to the Bob is Augusta, Montana, 53mi (85km) west of Great Falls, the nearest major airport there is no public transport to Augusta a personal vehicle is the best way to get there if hiking Glacier National Park as well, it's closest aiport is Glacier Park International Airport - near Kalispell Amtrak's Empire Builder Route train stops every day at Glacier ... add a comment here INDEPENDENT OR GUIDED? ... add a recommendation here We are unaware of any companies guiding this hike though there are plenty of horse, fish and hunting outfitters. Most hikers do the Chinese Wall independently. LOCAL INFORMATION Flathead National Forest Wilderness Area ... add a recommendation here BEST HIKING GUIDEBOOKS Falcon Hiking Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness - Molvar, 2001 Lonely Planet Hiking in the Rocky Mountains - Lindenmayer, Fairbairn, McCormack, 2002 ... add a recommendation here If you are hiking elsewhere in the Rockies, invest in the Lonely Planet. For this hike only, get the Falcon guide. BEST TRAVEL GUIDEBOOKS Fodor's Montana, Wyoming & Idaho - Kaufman (Editor), 2004 Montana & Wyoming - Alli Rainey Wendling, 2005 ... add a recommendation here OTHER RECOMMENDED BOOKS A River Runs through It and Other Stories - Norman Maclean, (essential Montana reading) Little Things in a Big Country: An Artist and Her Dog on the Rocky Mountain Front - Ben Gadd Handbook of the Canadian Rockies - Ben Gadd Falcon Hiking Montana - Russ Schneider, 2004 Along the Trail - A Photographic Essay of Glacier National Park and the Northern Rocky Mountains - Danny On, 1980 Where the Mountains Meet the Prairies - Graham Macdonald, 2000 Northern Rocky Mountain Wildflowers - Phillips Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance - Herrero The Backpacker's Handbook - Chris Townsend, 2004 Mammals of the Rocky Mountains - Pattie, Fisher & Hartson Plants of the Rocky Mountains - Kershaw, Pojar & MacKinnon ... add a recommendation here BEST MAPS USFS Bob Marshall, Great Bear and Scapegoat Wilderness Comples - 1:100,000. 5 or 6 USGS topographical maps covering the area, 1:24,000 are available, as well, but are not nearly as convenient to carry On-line maps: where is Montana in the USA? ... add a recommendation here BEST WEB PAGES Bob Marshall Wilderness - Backpacker magazine Continental Divide Trail Alliance Bob Marshall: Land of immense diversity - Rick Graetz Fishing Regulations - Montana Bob Marshall Wilderness - Wikipedia Montana - Wikipedia Glacier National Park Service — Bear information ... add a link here BEST PHOTOS & TRIP REPORTS Chinese Wall photos 2004 - Blake Mellor Continental Divide Trail - James Wolf aerial photo of the Bob - Montana-Yellowstone Geologic Field Guide Database Montana hiking photos 2002 - Fred Gray animal & plant photos - Glacier National Park ... add a link here MOVIES, VIDEOS, DVDs A River Runs Through It add a recommendation here