LM: Pine Grove Pool Party! (~20mi)

This week's weather is too hot for me to hike far without some sort of reward ... like going for a swim! And the only thing better than one swimming hole is two! Pine Grove Furnace State Park has two great swimming options - Fuller Lake and Laurel Lake (aka Laurel Forge Pond), and this trip will hit both of them. We'll also get some quality time on the AT and good views from Pole Steeple - a great trip for newcomers or seasoned veterans.

The plan is to meet at the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Station to carpool on Friday afternoon, drive up to Pine Grove Furnace State Park to enjoy an evening at Fuller Lake before hiking just over a mile on the AT to stealth camping spots just outside the park boundary (FarOut says this is totally fine to do). The next day we will get up early, re-trace our steps into Pine Grove Furnace and head up to to the Buck Ridge Trail, which will take us along a roughly 6 mile jaunt to Laurel Lake - where we can relax and wait out the worst of the midday heat and humidity (I would expect that we will spend a solid 5-6 hours at the lake, so come prepared) before climbing Pole Steeple, rejoining the AT, and making our way to James Fry Shelter to camp for the evening - roughly an additional 6.5 miles following our stop at the lake. On Sunday morning we will head ~6 miles back to the cars.

Tentative splits are 1/13/6 giving us a total of ~20 miles for the weekend - but don't let the splits fool you, Pole Steeple (immediately following the lake on Saturday) is a decent climb, and we will do that climb a second time when we head out on Sunday.

A few additional notes:

- The Friday camp spot is dry, although there is water .5 back. We will have dinner by the lake before heading to camp, so bring enough water to get through the night & breakfast - we will hit water soon after leaving camp in the morning.

- There is a cash-only snack bar at Laurel Lake.

- While not a "trail magic" trip, we will be right in the middle of the AT thru-hiker bubble, so feel free to pack out some treats for them (although many of them will have just eaten a half-gallon of ice cream, so they may be pretty full).

- More to follow on carpooling. There is limited overnight parking so we will want to consolidate cars.

Applicants:

Please send me a gear list when you sign up. Don't worry about needing to have expensive ultralight gear - I just want to make sure that you are bringing the essentials and that you feel comfortable carrying what you are bringing. If you have any questions feel free to send me a message!

DCULers have maps!

1. This route should be covered on PATC Map 2/3
2. Purple Lizard's Michaux State Forest map works as well
3. Caltopo: https://caltopo.com/m/4S6C10M

The Fine Print

1. As per our carpool policy, riders should plan to pay drivers $0.10/mile.

2. Dues -- Members and above, don't forget to pay your annual dues if you haven't yet. If you don't see the current year listed next to your name in your DC UL profile, please pay via PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/JenniferAdach/15 ($10 annual dues plus a $5 suggested donation to City Kids Wilderness Project.) Applicants do not need to pay dues.

3. More information on the club's COVID-19 policy: https://dculbackpacking.com/about/covid-19-guidelines/.

4. By participating in this or any DCUL activity, you agree and abide by our Liability Waiver (https://dculbackpacking.wordpress.com/about/liability-waiver/) and Terms of Use (https://dculbackpacking.wordpress.com/about/terms-of-use/).