Camp Muir

[campinggirl711]

Hello--How is everyone? This is my first posting. Has anybody hiked to Camp Muir? I just started training this week & am giving myself 1 yr. to get into great shape.

 

What's the climb like? I have been reading both positive & negative accounts of Camp Muir, especially the snowfield. I worry because I have 2 little ones--ages 7 & 8 mos., but this is something I want to do. How risky is it? What equipment/clothing should I have? I read that "cotton kills."

 

I'm not brave enough to summit--yet--but hiking to Muir would be a big achievement for me. (I live in Indiana--not much action here!)

 

Also--I've been reading about crevasses on the snowfield & also read a really creepy article about iceworms, their venom & devouring hikers.....yikes!

 

My husband & I plan on going in July 2007 (when you have kids, you have to plan in advance), so no rush on the advice, I've got time;)

 

Happy Holiday to all,

 

Campinggirl

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Try looking here

[genepires]

read "freedom of the hills" cover to cover. (after that book, there are other ones too) You got the time. If you aren't commited enough to read the book, then maybe you aren't commited enough to be out there. Then you should be able to make up your own determination of risk which is specific for everyone. You will also learn about equipment. (another very specific set for different people)

For me. when the weather is nice, it is a very safe place to be. But people die up there in bad weather. People slide out of control on the snow and crash into rocks. People manage to get themselves into all kinds of trouble.

It is a good goal though. Read up, get in shape, come out here, and have a backup plan if the weather turns foul.

But no need to fear about ice worms devouring people, they are vegetarians.

[knelson]

But no need to fear about ice worms devouring people, they are vegetarians.

 

Plus the National Park Service relocated the venomous ones back to their native Canada, as they weren't a indiginous species.

[snugtop]

Plus the National Park Service relocated the venomous ones back to their native Canada, as they weren't a indiginous species.

 

Where they were hired as extras on an X-Files episode.

[G-spotter]

Ice worm ragout is delicious.

But at Camp Muir, if you find floaties in your snowmelt, it probably isn't ice worms

[timy]

If your just looking for elevation gain and an excellent

hike you might consider Mt. Adams as a back-up plan.

Just so you know theres no such thing as Ice Worms that devoure people if they exist at all.If they do exist they would be larvea from some insect. (floaties, they make the melted snow and ice you drink taste better)

[KaskadskyjKozak]

If your just looking for elevation gain and an excellent

hike you might consider Mt. Adams as a back-up plan.

 

Mt. Adams is no less serious than Camp Muir.

 

If you're worried about the hazards (white out, etc), I'd recommend places like Granite Mountain, Dickerman, Mailbox Peak, 3-Fingers etc - beginning in May or June. But you can get hurt (or killed) on these peaks too.

[G-spotter]

(floaties, they make the melted snow and ice you drink taste better)

 

not if they are scraps of fecal matter and TP

[CraigClimber]

White-out is by far the most dangerous thing encountered on the trail to/from Muir... besides those Hoary Marmots! IN any event, read Freedom of the Hills and make sure you know how to use a map and compass. The climber's registry office has maps with bearings already drawn in when you get to the mountain.

 

BTW, what kind of training are you doing? If you're in northern IN then there are only 2 elevations: corn and soybeans. If you're in southern IN it's a different story!

[AlpineK]

I agree that white out is by far the worst problem you'll face. In good weather you can do the hike to Muir with no problem; all you have to do is be in good cv shape. If the clouds role in navagation is fairly hard.

 

Muir gets used a lot, so as Dru notes there is the potential for lots of nasty stuff in the snow you might melt for water, however if you are going to Muir as a day trip you shouldn't have a problem carying enough water for yourself.

[campinggirl711]

Thanks for all of the advice. I am seriously thinking of hiring a guide.

 

As for training.........we have things besides corn & soybeans....there's cow tipping, watermelon seed-spitting & eating roadkill....then again, being from Indiana, I probably don't have the teeth to chew the roadkill, so I'll just starve.

 

But, really, I'm strength training 4x per week and doing a ton of cardio, walking & we have some good-sized hills for me to practice on in southern Indy--of course, not like there are in WA, but it will have to do for now.

 

I will also get that book you guys keep mentioning and read it "cover to cover".

 

Does anybody have any recommendations for hiring a local guide to take us to Muir? We do plan on this being just a day hike.

 

Thanks..........

[Couloir]

Does anybody have any recommendations for hiring a local guide to take us to Muir? We do plan on this being just a day hike.

Don't waist the money. I would just post in the Climbing Partners section here a few weeks prior and there will likely be several folks that would be happy drag you up there for free...or for a case of beer or something.

[Alpinfox]

...I have 2 little ones--ages 7 & 8 mos...

 

Neat trick.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Thanks for all of the advice. I am seriously thinking of hiring a guide.

 

You don't need a guide. Just find someone who's been up there before and go with them.

 

I will also get that book you guys keep mentioning and read it "cover to cover".

 

You just need to know how to dress properly (layered, no cotton), keep hydrated and have map and compass skills. That's about 10 pages of Freedom of the Hills.

[campinggirl711]

Quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

...I have 2 little ones--ages 7 & 8 mos...

"Neat trick."

 

Good job reading that much into my posting. I think it's time to get out of your parents' basement--you seem to have a lot of time on your hands.

[CraigClimber]

I agree, don't bother with the guide. With a little knowledge you can do it yourself.

 

BTW, if you're near Bloomington, the Hilly 100 is great training! I think I rode that the first time when I was 7 or 8 (well, the first day anyway) so maybe your 7-year old would like it!

 

Also a note of caution - once you see "The Mountain" you will probably NOT want to go back to Indiana... I know I didn't!

[campinggirl711]

Hi CraigClimber,

 

I lived in WA, on McChord AFB for a few years with a perfect view of The Mountain & immediately I was smitten. I hiked the Skyline Trail with my husband & also the Nisqually Glacier trail & always wanted to go to Muir, but was pregnant at the time, so it didn't seem like a good idea....but, now I'm ready, so I'm giving myself 1 yr. to condition.

 

I love Brown County--my Grandma was born there & we go camping in Nashville, Indiana, quite often. Plus, when I was a student, IU was a great place to party!

 

(Ball State Alumni, here!)

 

CampingGirl

[snugtop]

Hi CampingGirl711

 

The snow conditions in July 2007 are looking iffy. You should try for 2009.

 

(Liberty University 7th Year Senior, here!)

 

Snugs.

[Bug]

No need to hire a guide.

Follow a crowd.

If you get in whiteout conditions, stay one the trail and wait for someone to come along and bail you out. If it's a Saturday you'll probably get trampled.

For training, run up the hills.

Each time you do (over weeks), push it a little harder until you are sprinting up them.

You need to get the oxygen transfer system working (lungs to legs) properly.

That will be overkill but you won't care about getting winded on Rainier.

[mowichman]

I wouldn't worry about hiring a guide. You should have plenty of time to get into good physical shape as well as read up on hiking and snow travel to be completely competent on your own. Camp Muir is a non-technical (but physically exhausting) snow hike so I wouldn't get hung up on reading Freedom of the Hills if you never plan to do any technical climbing. A good website for information on Rainier climbing, including conditions for the Camp Muir route, is www.mountrainierclimbing.blogspot.com. It is not an official NPS site but it is maintained by the lead climbing ranger at MORA. Good luck!

[IceAxe18]

This is my Camp Muir video that was filmed in September 2003. That year was my second year of Mountaineering. I had to turn around that day because of to many crevasses leading up to Camp Muir.

[swaterfall]

My favorite quotes:

 

1) "Don't grab me like that. Don't grab me til I got balance!"

 

2) "This... This... This is REAL. This is a crevasse."

 

3) "I can't tell the size of it." (talking about a deer 10 feet away)

 

4) "That icicle looks like a tongue."

 

5) "Can you see it?" "Dude it's right down there."

 

Seriously though, throwing a glow-stick down a crack is way not cool.

[IceAxe18]

Ya I wasn't to happy when I found out that my best friends brother droped the glow-stick down the crevass.

[Frikadeller]

Thanks for all of the advice. I am seriously thinking of hiring a guide.

 

You don't need a guide. Just find someone who's been up there before and go with them.

 

I will also get that book you guys keep mentioning and read it "cover to cover".

 

You just need to know how to dress properly (layered, no cotton), keep hydrated and have map and compass skills. That's about 10 pages of Freedom of the Hills.

 

Nah, more like 62 pages if you just look at compass skillz and threads... Not mention the other chapters in between like camping, and food etc...

 

But yeah, whatever...