Three days/two night trip to Airplane Lake and up Mount Saul with my small (15lb) dog, with the goal of replacing the pen in the summit registry :)
Indian Creek: The trail is well maintained and easy walking up to the creek, which has a newly built bridge. A WTA volunteer trail crew was working to clear the brush after the switchbacks, and they had cleared up to the Airplane Lake turnoff (about 4.5mi from trailhead) on my way up. Thank you!
Airplane Lake: There's some bootpath in the middle of the climb up, but the beginning (through the forest after the turnoff) and the end (towards the top of the climb and traversing to the lake) were bushwhacks. Even with boot pack, the 'trail' would start and stop abruptly. You will want to stay to the right of the creek, generally pointing yourself up and to the left. The climb from the turn off to the lake took ~3 hrs up and ~2.5hrs down, covering about 1.5 mi. The lake was surprisingly busy for being remote, with both campsites occupied and an additional group coming through in the evening on Friday. It was nice to see so many different groups using the trail - hunters, fishers, and hikers. Fall colors are out and beautiful.
Mount Saul: The hardest part of getting to the summit is the bushwhack through the heather and trees from Airplane Lake to the saddle. The ridge from the saddle to the summit is broad, with one short boulder scramble and not-too-steep gain. There are two small-ish snowfields remaining.
The registry is wet, as other trip reports have noted, and is in need of replacement, which is fair given that the it's from 1984 - older than me! I wanted to look through it but was afraid I'd cause damage, so left only a small note and then returned it to the container with the fresh pen. ~5hrs roundtrip from my campsite at the lake outflow, with lots of snack and picture breaks.
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