Rainier: Camp Muir

After trudging up the snowfields, I realized that we still had to set up the tents. What I did not realize is that we were not staying in Camp Muir, but on the snowfields just below Camp Muir.

The sloped snowfields.

You may realize that it is uncomfortable and dangerous to sleep on sloped snowy surface. So Phil announced that we would have to start digging. Out came the ice axes to chop through the snow and cut it into shoveable chunks. Out came the shovels to clear the snow and flatten out a platform.

Up go the tents. Digging in the stakes into the snow and using our hiking poles for additional stakes.

We now had our home for the next three days.

e would also need a kitchen, so we dug a hole, wind screen and shelf for the kitchen. Three days on the mountain meant we would have to take care of other bodily actions. So down the slope we dug a piss hole.

After setting up camp we put the kitchen to use and cooked up some dinner. Hot dogs for everyone with some pudding for desert.

After dinner we had the Phil said to hit the sack if we were tired. I immediately dove in to the tent and went off to dreamland.

In the middle of the night I had this dream of tumbling down the mountain repeatedly slamming my head into the snow and ice. Half awake I realized that I was not moving but the tent slapping back and forth. Stopping when it hit my head only to send it back out to balloon out and ricochet back into my head. As I became more conscious I learned that the wind was blowing at gale force and was slapping our tent around. Groggily, I slipped on my boots and jacket while the tent kept sending shots to my head. Ed was still sleeping like a baby since he was on the lee side of the tent. Out into the night air, I vainly tried to tighten the guy wires and re-secure some loose stakes. After a few minutes of messing around with the supports it looked like I had tightened up the sides enough to allow me to get some sleep.