Back to the Bob: Tagging the Chinese Wall
A couple of years back with the promise of unbelievable fishing and scenery, I convinced a friend to join me on a loop hike up the north fork of the Sun River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in north central Montana. As is my fault, I way overengineered the 60 mile loop and while we found the fish, I could not finish the loop and reach the ultimate objective: The Chinese Wall.
I returned this year, solo ( my apologies James) with the sole focus to make it to see the Wall. No loop nor fishing this trip, just a bee-line out of Benchmark Trailhead up the south and west forks of the Sun River to see this geologic wonder.
The Chinese Wall is a massive limestone escarpment that forms part of the Continental Divide. It is composed of Cambrian limestones that are over 300 million years old. The wall stretches for approximately 12 miles along the Continental Divide, with some definitions extending its length up to 22 miles. It rises nearly 1,000 feet in height for most of its length, creating a sheer cliff face that is unscalable for the average hiker. It is impressive.
The weather for the four day trip was perfect with temperatures in the 70’s and nightly lows in the 50’s. The winds shifted and kept the smoke plumes from the huge fires in Alberta north of the Bob. Hiking midweek I saw only a few parties with the exception of several USFS pack trains carrying supplies to rebuild the many trails in the wilderness.
The Wall was all that I expected. It rises majestically from the surrounding fir and pine forest and creates its own unique ecosystem. I saw plenty of bear sign and had one ramble through my camp at dawn one morning. Nothing serious, just a reminder that we humans are not the alpha predator in these parts.
After my hike, I did return and fish the south fork of the Sun for a day. While the river was at a historic low, I did find the fish just as eager as my last two trips. In a five hour session I rose prehaps 20 cutts and brought to hand a half dozen. The full sun and low water conditions resulted in many refusals to my hopper and attractor patterns from surprisingly large fish. Still, a marvelous day fishing in true wilderness conditions.
Tagging the Wall brought closure to what felt like unfinished business. It also reminded me that my time hiking at altitude will come to a close sooner than later. All the more reason to return to the Bob next year for another adventure.
