The Devils Bathtub trip was the first, of what I hope to be many, our group decided to take. It takes about three hours to get to Thomas Edison Lake from Fresno. Keep in mind you need a permit if you’re going to stay over night. The permit is free, and can be obtained at the ranger station located at the Edison lake turnoff at Huntington Lake. You can use The Weather Channel web sight to check the weather (zip code 93642 for Mono Hot Springs). Use the 7.5 min. topo map, Graveyard Peak.

We arrived at the trailhead about 10:30 Friday morning and started out at 11:00. The trail is very fine dirt, and I felt like I was walking at the beach. The first mile was an easy hike, fairly level. At the 1-mile marker we crossed a small stream that runs through a meadow to the west. This was the last place we found water before we reached the lake. If you cross the stream quietly, you may catch deer grazing in the meadow. If you’re earlier in the year, some of the small dry streams we crossed may have water. The second mile had a slight assent. The boys, age 13 and 16, didn't have a problem, but Charlie age 57, started slowing down. The third mile is a mostly wooded area, with not much of an elevation change. The last mile is a different story. There is a 600’ ascension in less than a half a mile. If you are in shape it should be a piece of cake, but most of us were not. The last quarter mile runs along the outlet stream from the lake. There are campsites on both the right and left side of the stream.

Fires were aloud at the time we made this trip. Make sure to check at the ranger station, and get a permit. The south side of the lake is shallow, about 3’. We didn’t have much luck fishing in the shallow water. On Saturday we walked around the west shore, and found deeper water. We caught 6 on Saturday.

The weather was great. It mush have been 85 during the day. The nights were warm too. The wind blew off and on during the day, and would die down at sundown. It would kick up again in the middle of the night. Made it a little hard to sleep. The temperature seems to run the same as Mono Hot Springs.