Devil's Bathtub
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Devil's Bathtub
North |
Devil's Bathtub
South |
Twin Meadows |
We couldn't find any mileage markers and didn't measure the trail ourselves. Our
best guess for the distance is an approximate 3 miles one-way to the South end
of the Bathtub.
Although there are many hikes we attempt for the sheer challenge, this is not
one of them. There are a few short heart pounding up-hills but overall we rate
this hike as easy to moderate. The primary reasons for visiting the bathtub is
simple wonder in the beauty of nature and the joy of exploration.
The trailhead is at the Northwest corner of Edison Lake. If you're coming from
the campgrounds, head towards to store but instead of turning left, turn right.
If you're coming from the store, head North. In either case, follow the signs
until you reach the parking lot at the trailhead.
The trailhead is located at the East end of the parking lot. There are no
mileage markers or clear signs as you leave the parking lot. There is a small
wooden sign that says "Trail" and points to the right. Make sure you ignore
this sign and veer to the left. There are two large boulders that you need to
pass through at the start of the trail to the Devil's Bathtub.
Our trail starts at a very easy incline. Near the beginning of the trailhead, we
crossed a brook surrounded by a lot of high green ground cover. After the
stream, the meadow feature continued. This is an extremely beautiful wonderland
of nature. About 1/8 mile past the 1st crossing of Cold Creek, the trail splits
off to the right and straight ahead are there are no signs identifying either
direction. Our journey to the Bathtub leads to the right where we immediately
cross Cold creek again at the far South end of one of the Twin Meadows.
This is an area of the trail where, in the early season, the water is high and
the skeeters are thick. Therefore, if you plan on enjoying this hike while the
snow is still keeping the water level high, make sure you bring plenty of bug
juice to keep the skeeters at bay.
Near the middle of our hike we came across a trail sign which also makes a good
rest area. I love finding trail signs as I did with these. The only problem
with these signs was that they had no mileage information.
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Devil's Bathtub (Straight)
Edison Lake (Back)
Goodale Pass (Right)
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Taking the Goodale Pass trail follows Cold Creed and meanders through Upper and
Lower Graveyard Meadows. Our trail to the Bathtub leads off to the left.
A little while after we left the fork in the trail, we started to tackle the
hill. At a point right before a short stint of switchbacks there is a defunct
wilderness marker about two feet West of the trail. All that's left of this
marker is a metal pipe sticking out of the ground with the inscription of "EAT
1969". Two trees North along the trail and off to the right (East) we found a
Douglas Fir with a cross carved in its bark.
Upon final approach to the Bathtub we were greeted with a cascade made of a
large moraine that regulated the flow of water out of the lake. The brook
created by this formation provided enough sound to lull any weary backpacker to
sleep.
When we reached the Southern edge of the Bathtub, we found no obvious trail
leading in either direction (clock or counterclockwise) although we could see a
good campground on the opposite side of the stream that runs out of the Tub. By
pushing on slightly to the left (West) we came across a primitive trail that
leads, to some degree, all around the lake. This trail quickly comes across a
scattered group of camp sites and then ends at a large slide of small to
car-sized boulders. Thus began our boulder-hopping campaign which lasted for
about 300 yards. It was a great relief when we finally came across the
primitive trail again which then very closely hugged the Bathtub all the way to
the North end where the hillside trail turned into a beautiful meadow and a
thin sliver of magnificent sun-drenched sand.
Most of the water that runs into the Bathtub comes from the amphitheater like
mountain righ that surrounds the Tub on all but the South Side. Since the
highest part of the theathre walls is on the North side, most of the water and
comes from this area as well.
Use the standard Day Hike Checklist for
this hike.
Everything I described above in the Trail Description
was done in about 5 1/2 hours. Since it takes 3 hours to get to the trailhead,
my suggestion is to camp at Florence Lake or nearby Ward Lake.
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