Camp Muir: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Mount Rainier National Park, National Park Service
Owens E, Thomas T, Vaage K. 2010. Camp Muir: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Mount Rainier National Park, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 400127. NPS Pacific West Regional Office. Pacific West Regional Office/CLI Database
Camp Muir, originally known as Cloud Camp, is the primary base camp for ascents to the summit of Mount Rainier. The camp is located on a narrow east-west ridge, or “cleaver,” at 10,188 feet on the Gibraltar route, long known as the most direct route to the summit of the great mountain. The Camp Muir site measures roughly 360 feet long from east to west and varies in width from 60 to 90 feet. The narrowest level part of the ridge is about 15 feet wide. The structures of Camp Muir include overnight shelters, comfort stations, storage, and a cookhouse. Although the site itself is fairly level, the surrounding topography varies greatly. The rock face south of the camp drops 30 vertical feet, from 10,100 feet to 10,070 feet in less than 100 linear feet from the edge of the camp. Camp Muir's period of significance is 1916-1936. The camp is a discontiguous part of Mount Rainier's National Historic Landmark District, which is significant as the best surviving example of an early national park master plan. It is also significant for its association with the early recreational development of the park (criterion A) and for its distinctive method of the Rustic Style of architecture in the stone masonry structures (criterion C).
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Owens, Erica; Thomas, Tom; Vaage, Karen
- Date of Issue
- 2010-09-09
- Publisher
- NPS Pacific West Regional Office
- Units
- MORA , PWR
- Keywords
- Campground, Civilian Conservation Corps, climbing, Cloud Camp, Edward S. Ingraham, Entertainment, historic site, John Muir, Marker, monument, Paradise-Cowlitz Cleaver Ascent Route, Picnic Area, Recreation, Rustic style, Sierra Club, Stone Construction
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 400127: Camp Muir