Backpacking Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness — Here's What 5 Days on the North Wall Looks Like

95km. 5 nights. 6 days. One of the Bob Marshall's most underrated routes — and almost nobody is filming it. This is the North Wall loop, Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana. Via the South Fork Teton Trailhead — over Headquarters Creek Pass, down to the North Fork of the Sun River, through Gates Park Ranger Station, up Red Shale Trail #130 to the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), along the North Wall limestone escarpment, into the Lovell Lake basin, south through Round Park and Wrong Creek Cabin, over Root Creek Pass, and out on Lonesome Ridge Trail — no packraft required, no resupply, no roads. We got rained on. We got muddy. We had lightning in our laps three nights running. We found grizzly diggings across half a hillside. And we found out exactly how's the hike. 📍 Route: South Fork Teton Trailhead → Headquarters Creek Pass → North Fork Sun River → Gates Park Station → CDT Junction (Red Shale Trail #130) → North Wall → Lovell Lake → Round Park → Wrong Creek Cabin → Root Creek Pass → Lonesome Ridge Trail → South Fork Teton Road 📏 Distance: ~95km / ~59 miles 🏔️ Elevation: ~3,500m / ~11,500 ft gain and loss 🗓️ Season: Late summer (snowpack was ~50% of normal — water was low in places, heat was a real factor in the exposed burn sections) 🗺️ Maps: Gaia GPS with Nat Geo layer — Garmin remains unreliable, as documented Notable encounters: red fox with kits under the bridge at North Fork, hummingbird that almost hit the camera, grizzly scat and diggings throughout, wolf tracks in fresh mud, CDT thru-hikers including a southbound hiker trail-named Fancy Feast, and horse parties seemingly everywhere. The Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex spans 1.5 million acres of wild Montana, part of the Lewis and Clark National Forest. This route crosses the CDT twice, stays entirely in the wilderness, and sees virtually no trail traffic compared to the Chinese Wall approach. If you're planning a trip — drop your route in the comments below. ⛺ SUPPORT THE EXPEDITIONS Join the Patreon community →   / howesthehike   Buy Me A Coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/howesthehike 🛍️ MERCH — Howe's The Hike? https://howesthehike.ca/shopping 🔗 AFFILIATE LINKS These cost you nothing extra and help keep the expeditions going. 🇨🇦 MEC (Canada): https://alnk.to/btnkVxS 🇺🇸 REI (USA): https://rei.pxf.io/DyB6qq Chapters: [00:00] Day 1 — Headquarters Creek Pass and the first storm [15:13] Day 1 wrap — 18.74km, got sick, still made it [17:21] Day 2 — Gates Park Station, CDT junction, Red Shale Trail [36:27] Day 3 — Overnight lightning, North Wall mud, Lovell Lake [51:18] Day 4 — Decision day, Round Park, Wrong Creek Cabin [1:05:55] Day 5 — Root Creek Pass summit, Lonesome Ridge out [1:23:28] Final morning — Last climb, South Fork Teton Road, hitchhike home