Camp Muir

If you're looking for a day hike that will give you some of the most incredible views available in the Pacific Northwest, as well as fully test your endurance, head for Camp Muir.

Camp Muir is the staging point for 90 percent of the summit climbs of Mt. Rainier, including those run by the Park's official guide service. After struggling from the roadhead at Paradise (5,400 ft.) up to Camp Muir (10,080 ft.), carrying 40 pound packs, you "enjoy" a few hours of sleep on wooden shelves inside a crowded, noisy shelter, built in 1921 and never redecorated, before being roused at about 11 p.m. to begin the climb to the summit (14,411 ft.)

But Camp Muir itself makes a nice day hike destination. I gave it a try yesterday, partly for the scenery, partly to help condition myself for my Nepal trek in October.

As those of us in the Northwest Corner are all too aware, we had a heavy snow pack this past year, and -- until the last two or three weeks -- an unusually cool summer. As a result, even the labyrinth of paths that the Park Service provides for car tourists -- paved in asphalt and designed to let families wander up above Paradise Lodge without too much effort, giving them an opportunity to view the wild flowers and wildlife -- remain covered by snow fields in many places. These paths are usually free of snow by mid-July. But the snow fields on these lower slopes aren't steep, and have foot paths etched into them, so the tourists were still out in force. A major attraction this year, one that I've never noticed before in this area, was a large number of large and unintimidated marmots, rolling and frolicking about beside the trail like a bunch of playful kittens.

The paths become more ambitious and dedicated to leading hikers to specific destinations once you reach a couple hundred vertical feet above the Lodge. The highest point reachable by trail is Pebble Creek, at 7,200 feet. Once past the creek, you find yourself on the Muir snowfield, a massive, undulating field of year-round snow that continues unrelentingly upward, all the way to the buildings at Camp Muir. While the trail to Pebble Creek is fun to walk for a number of reasons, the snowfield beyond is simply a long, exhausting slog. You do it because you have to, if you're a summit climber, or, for hikers, because you've told yourself that Camp Muir shall be the day's destination. The scenery becomes ever more spectacular, of course, as you climb higher -- but I suspect that scenery watching and photography become for most hikers mainly excuses to catch one's breath. That was certainly true for me, at least.

After you hang out for a while at the Camp, scoping out the views and perhaps feeling somewhat envious of those who are there for the summit climb, there remains the descent. I had departed from Paradise somewhat later in the day than I'd intended, and didn't start down until after 4 p.m. The snow was starting to ice in places, which made the descent less carefree -- and slower -- than I had hoped. (A number of falls, painful only to my dignity.) Also, I was wearing shorts, which made seat-of-the-pants glissades, a popular activity in the steep areas, not really feasible. I envied a large group of Indian or Indian-American tourists who had brought plastic garbage bags with them for use as sleds. They were descending more swiftly, and with a lot more noisy fun, than was I.

But the scenery was magnificent on a bright sunny day, and the temperature was moderate so that the hiking was comfortable. I took a bunch of great photos. And my muscles and cardiovascular system certainly got the workout I'd hoped for. Four hours up, and two and a half hours down. A highly satisfying day.