A PIREP: engine-out turn-back - some practice in the haze

I don't want to crash into the trees when I have twice
the altitude I need to safely turn back simply because I was
told to wait until pattern altitude.

Well stated. Note that 200' in a glider is not that low. In fact in
most gliders it probably has a saftey factor of about 2 to compensate
for variables such as wind, runways and location from the runway. My
typical issue with the 200ft turn around is that I am usually lined up
with the runway going downwind with a 100 ft to spare and down wind It
can sometimes take a little effort to not go off the far end of the
runway.

I would suggest you try the turn back scenero under some less than
Ideal situations and then double that altitude you deem required for a
turn back. Keep it simple and with lots of room for error.

Brian