Rainier was the only peak I didn’t have pre-arranged plans for as we rolled into this season of mountaineering. I knew I really needed to get it done this summer if I were to be more prepared for a run at Denali next summer. I just wasn’t exactly sure how that was going to happen.
The conversation started not long after I posted my trip report for Hood. A friend and I were talking about what states we had left in the West (not including Alaska), since both of us are working on all 50 state highpoints. He still needed Wyoming and Washington while I was only missing Washington and Hawaii. A few potential dates were thrown on the table for the end of July and we left it at that.
After getting home from Baker on July 8th, I immediately began aligning the stars for Rainier.
DAY 1 – Drive Half-way
If you’ve read any of my other blog posts about traveling to the Pacific Northwest, you know I’m not a fan of doing that drive from Salt Lake in one day. Luckily, Oliver has a brother that lives just outside Boise who was kind enough to let us crash at his place before and after this trip. It wasn’t quite half-way, but good enough to break up this lengthy drive.
DAY 2 – Arrive in Packwood
After breakfast, we uncoiled a rope in their backyard to revisit hauling systems and refamiliarize ourselves with the basic knots. We then stopped at REI in Boise to get a few forgotten items before heading out. This has become an all-too-familiar pattern for many of our adventures. I guess it’s a good thing REI has so many locations as that always seems to work out for us. Today’s seven-hour drive would end at an AirBNB in Packwood, WA.
DAY 3 – Hike to Camp Muir
Day three’s objective was to hike from Paradise to Camp Muir where I had a reservation in the hut for two nights. We knew it was only about 4 miles to this basecamp, so we took our time getting started. In other words, we didn’t feel the need to get out in front of a weekend crowd… it was Monday after all.
So we’re in the Ranger Station around noon to grab our permit and he says, “you all brought tents, right?” We’re like, “Um, no. We have a reservation in the hut. Why would we need a tent?” Apparently they overbook these accommodations and 30 people had already checked in. Gulp. No one told us that beforehand! We decided to take our chances and figure it out when we got up there. So off we went.
The Skyline Trail starts at Paradise, where lots of tourists hike the foothills of Mt. Rainier National Park.
Slowly but surely, the crowd thins out the higher you get.
About 2 miles in, you will see this warning sign as you approach Pebble Creek. This is about where we put on our crampons and traveled on snow for the rest of the way up.
Hiking up the Muir Snowfield is a pretty decent challenge. You climb about 4,500 feet in 4 miles carrying a pack full of gear.
For a brief moment, we walked through a heavy cloud layer.
Then we broke out into the sun for the rest of the time above it.
To our surprise, no one… not one single climber, was in the hut when we arrived around 6pm.
We couldn’t figure out how that could be with 30 people checking in before us? Were they all made to think there’d be no room at the Inn and brought their tents to set up outside??
It didn’t matter really. We sprawled out and enjoyed the first of two nights in the “comfort” of these accommodations without all the commotion of a typical climbing hut scenario. That would definitely not be the case for our second night here.
Our stats from Paradise to Camp Muir: 4.24 miles with 4,532′ of elevation in 4h 43m.
