Hike! Looking to do extended backpacking/Can you recognize this picture?

[Barret]

Hey everyone! Seems like this website is very new, so I'm sure not many people use it...yet! Anyway, I'm looking into heading to china this coming summer, and was interested in doing extended (10ish day) backpacking of the more remote sections of the wall. There does not seem to be much definitive information on the internet about this however! First of all, is this legal? Secondly, are there any sections long enough to hike for such a distance on? Basically, if anyone reads this who has attempted something like this and has any advice to lend - it would be greatly appreciated! Also, any references to accurate sources would be great.

On to the second part of my post...I ran across this picture online and it seems to have been taken in an area that would be a potential candidate. However, no information as to the location was given. Any ideas? Any similar places that you do know of?

Thanks!

[Barret]

Ok...after looking at some of the links in the thru-hiking section of this forum, especially the Walking the Wall blog, it seems it is definitely possible to do what I am interested in. Let me change my question then to where would the best place be to go if I am interested in a week-2 week hike that is relatively secluded and scenic. And as always more websites that have specific information like the blog are always welcome! Thanks!

[Bryan]

Hi Barret,

Welcome to the Great Wall Forum! Thanks for joining. The photo from your first post is the Simatai ridge. Walking to the West from here you can't go much further - legally or safely. And the wall doesn't go much further. You can see a similar view at the bottom of my Jinshanling 2005 page - http://www.bryanf.com/china/2005/jinshanling.htm.

One option for you would be to walk from Shanhaiguan towards Beijing. Here the wall is relatively continuous all the way to Huangyaguan and beyond. Another option would be to start in the Badaling area and again head west. There are also very long sections in the Huairou area. These sections are very long but pretty challenging. If you don't like the steep mountains then you could head further west but the desert isn't too attractive in the summer.