IO: DC UL Winter Cabin Book Club Retreat

Fellow Outdoorspeople and Readers!

We're going to do something a little different for this trip. The idea is for a rustic cabin weekend at the PATC's Jones Mountain Cabin in Shenandoah National Park as a winter retreat that is focused as much on reading and meditation as it is hiking. We'll still need to do at least 4-5 miles to reach the cabin, and it could be in winter-condition snow for all we know in December! You will need to backpack in and have the gear and skills to do so. But once in the cabin the idea is to settle in with each other, a good book, and anything else that'll make it special and fun. Enjoy the woods and don't worry about any extra miles. We'll be social in the evenings but there's also an inward aspect to this as well so feel free to spend Saturday during the day in any manner in which you would consider appealing for a rustic cabin retreat. The cabin is tight and cozy and for the day Saturday I would highly recommend the layers and anything else (chair, hammock, etc.) to be able to spread out into the nearby woods to read or relax.

If you've never been in a rustic PATC cabin, please know that it is VERY spartan. To get ten people in this, we will be packed quite close together in the loft and lower room. The wood stove will keep things better than outside but not necessarily much much warmer. You will want all the insulation layers and sleep system you would normally use when backpacking in the winter. And as this is still very much a DC UL outing, please note you will absolutely be fully responsible for your own eating, drinking, and gear needs. There will be no preplanned communal cooking. (If you want to surprise and delight your fellow backpackers with some food or spirits, however, by all means make our weekend and yourself into a legend.)

Application Email Instructions

As an IO -- Invitation Only -- outing, this trip has a very important extra step: once you RSVP, please send me an email at evankmccarthy @ gmail.com with the following information: 1) If you are not a DC UL Veteran Member, please note your general backpacking experience and gear summary, especially in colder conditions; 2) Please let me know why this winter retreat is interesting to you and what you intend to do for the weekend, (read, meditate, forest therapy, etc.); 3) Let me know if you plan on driving, if you can transport people from Vienna Metro, or if you are coming from a different direction; 4) Acknowledge that you truly have cleared your calendar for this event and that we can count on you from now until December 6 as a solid RSVP. We want to make sure we have 10 folks on this outing to fill the cabin. I'll confirm your attendance via reply email and change the meetup RSVP from wait list to going accordingly.

Trip Details

Plan is to carpool from Vienna Metro (north side parking lot) at 12:00 p.m./noon on Friday, December 6, either using Skyline Drive if open or via Rapidan Camp area approach trail if needed. We'll confirm specifics when we get closer, as well as finalize carpool details.

Remember: DCULers have maps. Some SNP map options:

• PATC
• NatGeo
• Purple Lizard

Waiver: By RSVPing to this trip or any other DC UL trip, you agree to these guidelines and to DC UL's waiver liability terms (https://dculbackpacking.com/about/liability-waiver/)
COVID-19 policy: https://dculbackpacking.com/about/covid-19-guidelines/

Dues: Members and above, don't forget to pay your annual dues. You can check if you need to pay dues by seeing if the current year is listed next to your name in your DC UL profile. Applicants do not need to pay dues for their first trip. To pay your dues via PayPal, use this link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/JenniferAdach/15 ($10 annual dues plus a $5 suggested donation to City Kids Wilderness Project.)

Carpool: As per our carpool policy, riders should pay drivers $0.10/mile. I'm anticipating this will be around $18-20 for riders.