I've hiked to Camp Muir three times, once as a day hike and twice as the first leg of a summit climb. Camp Muir is a narrow ridge below the Cowlitz cleaver and is named for John Muir who spent the night there in 1888 with a party of eight. Muir suggested the place because he thought it would provide protection from the wind. He was wrong and his companions never let him forget it.
Photo: Camp Muir.
I've been lucky in that each trip has had perfect weather. The first was 8/2/98, a crystal clear Sunday. Four of us met at Paradise parking lot at 9 and were headed up the Glacier Vista trail at 9:50. The trail crosses below the Nisqually Glacier, up to Pebble Creek and onto the Muir Snowfield. The views of the Nisqually Glacier are terrific. We could see climbers across the glacier on what looked to be a pretty steep and rocky route.
The trail to pebble creek is one of those busy Paradise trails. Beyond the creek, it is all snow and all up. The snowfield starts out fairly narrow, but broadens to over half a mile wide near the top. To the left (West) it blends into the Nisqually Glacier, to the right is McClure rock and beyond that the Paradise Glacier.
There is a lot of traffic, and the paths through the snowfield fade in and out. We drifted toward the right and had to make a correction back to the center of the snowfield when we got closer to the top.
Elevation is 10,000' which is the lower end of the altitude sickness range and I experienced some apnea--not shortness of breath, but just realizing I wasn't breathing and suddenly gasping.
It's a fascinating place with the RMI guide shack and cook shack on one end right below the Cowlitz Cleaver and the public climbers' shelter and solar toilet on the other against the flank of Muir Rock. Above all of them is the Climbing Rangers' A-frame shack. The snowfield drops away from the south side and the Cowlitz Glacier scrapes away on the north side. On the other side of the glacier Cathedral rocks descend from the rampart ledged Gibraltar Rock. Cadaver Gap and Cathedral Gap, the main routes to the Ingraham Glacier, are prominent landmarks.
There were over a dozen tents pitched on the glacier and the snowfield and climbers and hikers all over. In the climbers' shelter, two guys lay flat on their faces, climbing boots and gear still on--exhausted. If you go, check out the ranger's notes on the routes posted--where better--on the door to the solar toilet.
We ate lunched and watched the action for half an hour and headed down. Skiing or snowboarding are possible, though for the huge suncups in the top third were giving people trouble. On a clear day, there are views of Adams, Hood, St Helens and even Jefferson.
Aside from the physical demands of 4600' elvation gain in 4 miles, it's a deceptively easy hike with potential for getting into trouble. If the weather changed and fog rolled in there are no landmarks to keep you from wandering on to the Nisqually or Paradise Glaciers.
I went up again on 9/5/98 and a crevasse 2' wide had opened up about 500 yards from the top, so there's also the possibility of falling through thinning snow into a hole. Some areas are steep enough for a long slide that could take you into rocks. There's no shelter between Pebble Creek and Camp Muir.
As long as you've checked the weather, have plenty of water and are prepared for winds at the top, it's a great time. Took us 4 hrs, but could be done in less. On the last trip, we met Bronka S. She's 73 and hikes to Muir and back several times a week, usually with her husband who's in his 80's.
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