Mt Rainer (Camp Muir)

August 24th, 25th and 26th

THANKS to DOUG DAVIS for not only carrying the camera gear up the mountain but for taking such great pictures along the way!!

If you have ever been to Seattle on even a remotely clear day you have seen Mt Rainer. Even over 120 miles from my house it is huge and looming. For a person who loves the idea of camping and hiking it is like a siren's call.  

Someone at work suggested we should climb, not to the summit but just below it to Camp Muir.  To get to Muir requires no special climbing skill or equipment, but to spend the night up at that altitude requires some planning and more than a little endurance.  I mentioned to my Brother-in-law Doug that I was wanting to make the trip and the idea appealed to him even though he sees Rainer only on his visits to Seattle and not every morning on his drive to work.

We left Silverdale around noon on Friday and headed for Rainer. Along the way two hub caps fell off the van and Doug and Robert volunteered to get them even though we were on a busy freeway on-ramp.  Being artists they used various items found along the side of the road for a little impromptu performance art. (They also recovered the lost hub caps.) 

After spending Friday night at the 3500 ft level in Cougar Rock campground we arose Saturday morning and did final pack adjustments before heading up the mountain.

To get to Camp Muir you first register at the Ranger Station at Paradise (4500 ft).  Then you begin your hike along a moderately steep trail past Marmots and Meadows. It is now 10AM in the morning.  Not too gradually the trail begins to steepen and after 1.8 miles it turns from dirt and rock to the thick snow and ice. This is a good place to to stop and have a snack and some water... 

    The Nisqually Glacier         Daniel at the snow fields

    Jason resting     Robert entertaining       Mario sucks the water

The trail up the snow fields is VERY steep. You rise through 8000 feet and suddenly the view  from the trail is as amazing.  Besides the Glaciers al around you and the summit about you can see other mountains to the south that aren't looking as tall as they did from sea level.

Mt Adams        Mt St Helens     Chris looking back    Chris taking it slow

  Doug snaps a shot of the beautiful view and his tired feet.

  Mario working upwards   

  Robert follows the trail carved into the snow field

Snow and Rock    Chris takes another rest        Daniel leaves Dad behind

Carson the Amazing Man from Fiji was first to the top at 2:30.  I don't think he rested at all. Daniel made it next enjoying leaving his Father and Doug in the dust.  Finally around 5PM Doug and I made it to 10,400 feet and Camp Muir.  I have never done anything as hard as carrying my 55 pound pack up that steep snow and ice field.  

Upon arriving at Muir I rested enough to have breath to talk and checked in at the Ranger Station. The Ranger Station at Camp Muir is a tiny A-frame hut.  When I showed the Ranger our camping permit and asked him where we could pitch our tents he pointed to a steep snow bank and handed me a shovel. Seven hours of deadly hiking and completely out of water our only choice was to dig a level spot in the snow for our tents.

The Amazing Man from Fiji (Carson) took the shovel and dug a flat spot large enough for FOUR tents almost by himself.  Daniel Doug and I began melting snow for drinking water.  Around 7PM Jason Robert and Mario made it to the top.  There were doubts Mario was going to get to the top before dark but with the generous help of Robert and Jason he made it just before. 

          Tents with the Summit in the background

   The main reason most people come to Camp Muir is to attempt the summit.  RMI Guides are shown here teaching paying clients how to self-arrest using their ice axes on a snow bank near Camp Muir.  No one made the summit the weekend we were there due to avalanches.  There had been a huge amount of new snow the week before and the warm summer days made it unstable. You could here the avalanches every so often sounding like thunder.

We spent almost the whole time from when we arrived until dark melting snow for drinking water and cooking.  All of us used canister stoves which performed very well even at 10,000+ feet altitude and in near freezing weather. Water doesn't boil hot enough at that altitude to kill bacteria so we still had to treat it with iodine.

The next morning it was below freezing until around 9AM when the sun hit our camp site.  Then it warmed up and breakfast took on a festive atmosphere.

The whole gang from left to right:

Jason, Daniel (far back), Doug (kneeling), Mario, Chris, Robert (kneeling), and Amazing Man from Fiji Carson.

      Robert next to the Ranger's shovel used to dig our camp site. 

   Daniel ready to head back down and Doug admiring the view.

  Daniel and Chris loaded up and about to head down.

     Jason, Robert, Doug and Carson made the trip down more fun by sliding down the snow field on trash bags and sleeping pads. 

It was the trip of a lifetime and I am sure I will climb Rainer again.  maybe to Camp Sherman on the North Side next time...