Lethe Lake
Where do they get the names for these lakes anyway? Pronounced 'lee-thee'. Lethe was the River of Forgetfulness in Greek mythology. The Lethe River was one of the five rivers that flowed through Hades. I don't think Hades was a particularly nice place, so lets hope Lethe Lake is better. Since nobody has probably been to Lethe Lake in quite a while, it is not really known what it is like at all.
A very small creek that is certainly not floatable for any real distance in a canoe connects Lethe Lake to a small bay in the northwest corner of South Hope Lake. This little creek winds through charred forest and peat bogs. Following this creek results in a bushwhack of about 250 rods through some pretty rough terrain. It will probably feel like you have traveled through Hades by the time you get to Lethe Lake. You still have to come back too since Lethe Lake is a dead end lake leading to nowhere; or perhaps Hades.
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.
Approach to Lethe Lake
Lethe Lake is approached from South Hope Lake.
Bushwhack to Lethe Lake
If you follow the creek from South Hope Lake up to Lethe Lake which will at least make navigation easy, you are looking at a solid 250 rod bushwhack. Little of this creek appears to be floatable in a canoe, but who knows.
Exploring Lethe Lake
Lethe Lake, from satellite images, offers up a small island, a west shore covered by peat bog, and an eastern shoreline lined by charred trees. There is no other information on this lonely lake named after a river...a river of forgetfulness.
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