Hairy Lake Primitive Management Area

Hairy Lake is a fairly popular PMA because it has some accessible lakes and offers good travel destinations. The most popular lake in the area is probably Sora Lake. Sora Lake can be accessed through a series of small ponds and bushwhacks from Copper Lake to its north, or by coming up from the south through Octopus, Fetters, Iris, Mass, and Din Lakes. Sora is part of a nice little grouping of lakes along this route. Hairy Lake, a small non-descript looking lake on the map, is reached via a bushwhack from Sora’s west shore. More difficult lakes to get to just to the west of this area are Ragged Lake, Don Lake and Fungus Lake. Ragged Lake looks particularly interesting because of its jagged shoreline and islands.

The eastern side of this PMA has two more groups of lakes that are less visited. The north group includes Fool Lake, Jester Lake and Lucky Pay Lake (the gamblers grouping I call them). All three of these lakes are accessed from Cross Bay Lake, through a small, but pretty, unnamed lake. A creek from the unnamed lake leads to Fool Lake and Lucky Pay Lake. Jester Lake is a short portage past Fool Lake. Jester Lake is a beautiful, relatively deep lake with some interesting geologic formations on its north end. Swollen Ankle Lake is not easy to reach from Fool Lake. It is better approached from Yogi Lake to the south. Another long and fairly difficult route to Swollen Ankle Lake is from Lucky Pay Lake following the creek. From Long Island Lake, a creek heads north into Yogi Lake (about 85 rods). Yogi Lake provides access to the north into Swollen Ankle Lake, a fairly tough bushwhack along a creek. To the west, Yogi Lake provides a jumping off point to Juniper Lake, Little Copper Lake and Plug Lake. Little Copper Lake is a compelling destination from Yogi Lake.

Another three lake cluster is accessible from Frost Lake. This collection of lakes includes Auk Lake, Burt Lake and Moth Lake. These are all nice sized lakes and are reached over a mushy bushwhack from Frost Lake’s north shoreline.

There are a couple outlying lakes in this PMA that few will ever visit. These are Intersection Lake and Myth Lake. Myth Lake probably gets its name because it appears so faintly on a map; very small and more of a swamp.

References:
Pauly, Daniel, Exploring the Boundary Waters (Minneapolis:  University of Minnesota Press, 2005), 329.