I drove up there years ago to paddle it. Got there early in the year and it was dry as a bone, I couldn't believe it. Ended up paddling the St Louis River from Brookston to Cloquet. I ended up moving to Cloquet years later... Never did make it on the Cloquet River the fifteen years I was there... The BW was just to close to paddle much closer to home. I'd just go on a wim back then, kind of where I'm getting to now. I did play on the St Louis river a lot though... I could get dropped off north of town and paddle home.

There is a good article about the Cloquet River in NE Minnesota in the current issue of the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer. 
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Click on the picture of the river for the main article link, and right below that is a link to an interactive map showing video of portions of the river. 

The Cloquet is a fantastic river, one I highly recommend to anyone looking for an alternative to the BW/Q.  Not as pretty as the BW/Q, but a different experience with runnable rapids, few/no portages, and fewer people (even compared to the Q!).  Fishing is excellent as well, but most fish are small.  For a full trip, however,  most years you have to paddle it in the spring or early summer, unless you don't mind abusing your boat and frequent wading.

GeneM, are we going to see pictures from your May snowstorm trip?