Kara and Nate, joined by their longtime travel companion Charlie, spent 72 consecutive hours hiking, camping, and exploring remote sections of the Great Wall of China — completing two overnight camps on the structure itself, watching back-to-back sunrises from a UNESCO World Heritage site, and navigating terrain that most visitors never see. The trio, guided by Oliver, a local expert who has climbed the wall over 1,500 times, began their journey with a 2.5-hour drive from Beijing to the Jing Shaolin section before ascending 28 minutes of steep stone steps to reach the wall on day one.
Charlie, Nate, and Kara Conquer 20 Kilometers Across Three Days
Kara and Nate documented the full three-day route, which covered approximately 20 kilometers of the wall’s estimated 13,000-mile total length — a structure built across more than 20 dynasties over 2,400 years. On day one, Oliver split the group into a friendly race, sending Charlie and Kara on the direct wall route while Nate took a detour around a tower, reuniting the group after roughly five minutes to much celebration. Charlie emerged as the group’s most enthusiastic participant, eating six grasshoppers off camera after the group learned at dinner that their host had collected them directly from the wall earlier that day. Kara and Nate combined for one grasshopper between them.
The first night’s camp dropped to -2 degrees Celsius inside a wall tower. Kara layered wool base layers, a sweater, hiking pants, a heated vest, a down jacket, and gloves. Charlie, by contrast, had packed a speedo but no gloves. Despite loud predictions of sleeplessness, Kara recorded her highest sleep score of the entire trip that night — 7 hours and 22 minutes — while Charlie reported waking up in the fetal position after drooling onto his inflatable pillow and discovering a small ice patch. Nate woke at 3 a.m. and had to remove his coat because he was overheating.
Night Two, the Military Zone Detour, and the Final Descent
On day two, the group navigated a section adjacent to a military restricted zone, requiring an off-wall trail detour before rejoining a portion of the wall that had received no restoration work in approximately 600 years. That evening, after a two-hour drive to a new section, Kara, Nate, Charlie, and Oliver climbed a ladder over a 2,700-year-old wall segment in the dark to reach the second campsite — a flat open section where pre-pitched tents were waiting. Oliver, who reportedly snored loudly enough to be heard through earplugs, wore every item of clothing he had brought. The second night was dramatically more comfortable, with flat ground and two sleeping bags per person.
The expedition concluded on day three with a final four-to-five-hour hike east from a tower approximately 1,500 meters from the guest house village, followed by the group’s grand finale: descending via a luge-style metal slide — the same slide Kara and Nate had used during their first-ever Great Wall visit in 2014. Charlie was reportedly reprimanded by every slide attendant on his run for excessive speed.
The Great Wall’s outermost defensive sections near Beijing were actively used as recently as the early 1930s to resist Japanese military incursions — a fact that reframes the structure not merely as an ancient monument but as a continuously relevant fortification across millennia. Oliver recommended the Jing Shaolin section to travelers seeking a less crowded experience, noting it draws a fraction of the visitors compared to the sections immediately adjacent to central Beijing. For travelers with the gear, the permits, and a friend like Charlie willing to camp in near-freezing temperatures without gloves, Kara and Nate proved that the Great Wall rewards those willing to go well beyond the standard two-hour tourist loop — and that the wall’s most extraordinary views belong entirely to those who stay the night.
