Camp Muir is home to both a public shelter (for the ignorant masses) and an RMI (Rainier Mountaineering Inc) shelter and cookhouse. RMI had up until recently an exclusive license to guide on the mountain, and their clients have their own setup. Everyone else gets a spartan bunkhouse and outdoor toilets. We opted as many others to pitch our own tent. After talking with a very helpful rangerette, we decided to pitch our tent and stay in the Muir area the next morning to practice our rescue techniques before we moved onto Ingraham Flats, a higher camp at 11,000 Ft.
We set about digging out a spot for the tent, intent on setting camp and getting to sleep for an early start. No sooner had we leveled our spot than life at Muir began to wind down, and by the time we'd pitched the tent almost everyone else had turned, no doubt to prepare for an alpine start at the summit. We melted snow for water the next day, boiled water for dinner (though for some reason we couldn't get the pasta in our dehydrated meals to soften, perhaps the altitude had the water boiling at too low a temperature), and turned in just as the sun was setting. The wind however had not been advised of our plans and persistently blew all night, flapping the tent walls violently and making sleep all but impossible. On top of that, when the RMI group got their start at 1 am, they felt the urgent need to chant at the top of their lungs, no doubt urged on by their money grubbing sherpas. More on this later. I was pleased, on the other hand, that my new sleeping bag kept me toasty warm in the sub freezing temperatures wearing a "bare" minimum of clothing.
Camp Muir is home to both a public shelter (for the ignorant masses) and an RMI (Rainier Mountaineering Inc) shelter and cookhouse. RMI had up until recently an exclusive license to guide on the mountain, and their clients have their own setup. Everyone else gets a spartan bunkhouse and outdoor toilets. We opted as many others to pitch our own tent. After talking with a very helpful rangerette, we decided to pitch our tent and stay in the Muir area the next morning to practice our rescue techniques before we moved onto Ingraham Flats, a higher camp at 11,000 Ft.
We set about digging out a spot for the tent, intent on setting camp and getting to sleep for an early start. No sooner had we leveled our spot than life at Muir began to wind down, and by the time we'd pitched the tent almost everyone else had turned, no doubt to prepare for an alpine start at the summit. We melted snow for water the next day, boiled water for dinner (though for some reason we couldn't get the pasta in our dehydrated meals to soften, perhaps the altitude had the water boiling at too low a temperature), and turned in just as the sun was setting. The wind however had not been advised of our plans and persistently blew all night, flapping the tent walls violently and making sleep all but impossible. On top of that, when the RMI group got their start at 1 am, they felt the urgent need to chant at the top of their lungs, no doubt urged on by their money grubbing sherpas. More on this later. I was pleased, on the other hand, that my new sleeping bag kept me toasty warm in the sub freezing temperatures wearing a "bare" minimum of clothing.
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