Another Chinese Wall Adventure!
in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of Montana
September 16-23, 2011
Part Three - Photography and Beauty along the Wall
Part One - Benchmark to Prairie Reef
Part Two - The Snow Storm near Cliff Mountain
Part Four - My Lake to Headquarters Pass Trailhead
Copyright Notice

Our fifth day was sort of a resting day. We hiked back over the saddle near Salt Mountain and spent the day wandering around enjoying the tremendous views and taking photographs. Day six featured an early morning photo shoot of the Chinese Wall followed by a hike from Salt Mountain along the base of the Wall to near Larch Hill Pass. We eventually camped for the night near My Lake.

Photos by Ralph Thornton and Jim Utsler.
To see Jim's fantastic art visit his Art by Jim Utsler website.

More Chinese Wall Stories click HERE
Previous two photos: One of my favorite views of the Chinese Wall between Salt Mountain and Cliff Mountain includes scenes with this white bark pine. It stood as a giant sentinel to beautiful scenery.

Below: Jim liked this scene with early morning light on the Wall with some of the upper areas etched by the snow of the previous day.
The sun warmed us up and made for a very pleasant day after the early morning deep freeze. Jim and I found this delightful spot for lunch.
Above: Salt Mountain on the Chinese Wall.

Left: Look how little snow remained after our warm sunny day. The following night it didn't even go below freezing!
Just south of the Salt Mountain saddle the base of the Chinese Wall is littered with huge boulders.
Another morning view of my favorite tree.
We returned to camp for breakfast, then packed up. We planned on hiking the remaining few miles of the Chinese Wall north of Salt Mountain then heading east to My Lake.

North of Salt Mountain there are wide open alpine meadows.
While resting and enjoying a short luncheon we watched a group of mountain goats romping on the cliffs.
Left: Larch Hill Pass is in the top right corner of this photo. This marks the north end of the Chinese Wall.

Below Left: I'm definitely having a great time.

Below Right: A close look at the interesting rock cliffs.
Two views of My Lake in the late afternoon.

The weather had turned warm and our last two nights were quite comfortable.

We were starting to get low on food and time was running short. 25 miles of hiking remained to reach the Headquarters Pass trailhead. The following morning featured an early start.
Click below for:

Part Four