Arrow Creek
Arrow Creek has its headwaters in Calamity Lake. The creek flows north through the three Arrow Lakes and continues on until emptying into Lake Insula in the bay just south of where Hope Creek flows into the lake.
This area was scorched by the 2011 Pagami Creek Fire that burned much of the southwestern part of the BWCA and was the largest fire in recorded history at about 100,000 acres (almost 10% of the entire BWCA).
There was a large fire in this area around 1863-1864. This fire is known as the North Kawishiwi River/Alice Lake/Cypress Lake/Saganaga Lake Complex. This burn began south of the current BWCAW's southern boundary near the town of Isabella, Minnesota.
Paddling Arrow Creek
Arrow creek is navigable along most of its five mile length. The creek begins at Calamity Lake at an elevation of 1,618 feet and loses 106 feet of elevation by the time it gets to Lake Insula which is 1512 feet above sea level. Because of the 2011 Pagami Creek Fire, there will certainly be deadfall in the creek requiring regular short bushwhacks. The 1993 Fisher F-4 map does not show any maintained portages ever existed along the entire length of the creek. This creek was at one time a standard route in the BWCA. The Arrow Lakes have all been surveyed by the Minnesota Department of Resources. The Powwow Trail used to pass near the south bank of Arrow Creek where it turns east, just south of Lower Arrow Lake (Arrow Lake 3). From here, the Powwow Trail continued east and ran along the north and west shore of Powwow Lake.
There is another trail that is shown on the 1993 Fisher F-4 map that ends just to the west (less than a quarter mile) of the south end of Upper Arrow Lake (Arrow Lake 1). This trail wound its way to the west and ran along the north bank of Ahmoo Creek, about a mile and a half east of Pose Lake. This trail does not show up on satellite images (i.e., Google Maps).
There is an unnamed lake, filling quickly with peat bog, which lies just to the northeast of Middle Arrow Lake (Arrow Lake 2) that could be visited.
|
