August 20th, 2011 Camp Muir or bust

Distance 9.2 miles round trip
Elevation gain 4600 feet
Max Elevation 10,050 feet



Team Bonda takes Muir!


Reshma, Archana, and I headed up to Paradise in Rainier National Park.  We were greeted by beautiful weather, much warmer than our hike here a few weeks earlier.  We trudged up to Muir, taking breaks on the hour.  This time I carried the full 35 plus pounds.  Arch and I rented boots from Whittaker, which,thankfully, worked great. The first hour was quite brutal, but after that, it was challenging but doable.  The views were spectacular!  We saw Mount Adams, Mount St. Helen's, Mount Hood, along with waterfalls, wildflowers, and of course Rainier herself. 


Resh, adjusting my load lifters

View of Rainier from Paradise

Team Bonda did great, with all of us being able keep up with the RMI group.  At camp muir, the RMI guides showed us the bunker we would be staying at during our summit climb.  They also were amazingly helpful and answered all our questions. 

The way down was a slog because the slush made the glissading less than ideal, and the ground sooo slippery.  Nevertheless, we were all in good spirits as we headed to dinner in Ashford at Wild Berry, a Nepalese restaurant Sandra had recommended.  The food was amazing and totally hit the spot!  A very long but super successful day.

the trudge up to Muir

Base Camp!