Promise Lake
So what is a promise? Better yet, what is a clevis? See Clevise Lake to find out what a clevis is; you already know the definition of a promise.
Midway between Hope Lake and North Hope Lake (the unnamed lake to the northwest of Hope) along Hope Creek enters the small creek from Promise Lake. This creek flows perhaps one-third of a mile from the north side of Promise Lake. It does not appear to be navigable from satellite images, but it does flow through open terrain within the burned out forest. This makes it easy to navigate at least; just follow the creek. Likely the banks of this little creek, like many small creeks in the BWCA, is very spongy in places. This spongy, marshy terrain that often forms peat bogs throughout the area, is the result of the impermeable surface that underlies the thin soil. This impermeable surface is the billions year old rock of the Canadian Shield that extends into Minnesota, but covers much of Canada. This is also part of what allows the BWCA to have so many lakes; it is the poor drainage caused by this underlying rock forming a barrier.
The shoreline of Promise Lake looks to be a happy mixture of burnt forest and peat bog.
Both Promise Lake and Clevise Lake would probably make a good day trip from a campsite on Hope 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.
Approach to Promise Lake
The entire approach into Promise Lake is from Hope Creek between Hope Lake and North Hope Lake (the unnamed lake).
Bushwhack to Promise Lake
The bushwhack into Promise Lake is upstream along a small creek that flows from the north end of Promise Lake into the south side of Hope Creek. This creek is likely not navigable but provides an easy geographic landmark to follow. The entire bushwhack from Hope Creek to Promise Lake is about 100 rods or so.
Exploring Promise Lake
There is no information to be found on Promise Lake so anyone who manages to visit this place will likely be in one of the most knowledgeable people in the world concerning Promise Lake.
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