San Joaquin, S. Fork

Doris Lake is one of the attractions in the SF San Joaquin area. Hot springs feed the lake and keep the temperature in a pleasant range. The water is cool, but not cold and one can swim for a long time without becoming uncomfortable. The river and any other lake in the area will be freezing cold. This lake is about 2/3 of a mile north and slightly east of Mono Hot Springs. There is a popular trail leading from the end of the road at Mono Hot Springs. There is probably also a trail leading to the lake from the road to Edison Lake. Doris is only 1/3 mile from spots along this road.

We had fun time jumping off the cliffs into the lake shortly after this picture was taken.
This is looking north from the road near Mono Hot Springs on the way to the SF San Joaquin. The snow capped mountains are the Clark Range in southern Yosemite.
Marmots are a common resident in the Sierra. We saw several on this trip to the SF San Joaquin. This one just made a poor choice of hiding spots in a crack in a small boulder. It could not squish any further down into the crack and was forced to hold still while I took pictures.

In some areas, such as Mineral King in Sequoia Park, marmots are notorious for chewing on the wires and hoses in automobile engine compartments. I have not heard of that problem in this area, but you never know when they might get a hankering!