I just got back late last night from my first trip of the year. 4 days 3 nights, 70 miles. And what a trip it was. I have done the Cloquet River 7 other times from Indian Lake to the Hwy 2 bridge on the St. Louis river. This was a trip of firsts.
First time paddling in a blizzard ( I should have brought my ski goggles )
First time setting up camp in a blizzard ( we got 4+ inches of snow )
First time paddling in below freezing temps ( low of 20 deg )
First time portaging many rapids ( Have run every rapids on the river in the past - this was supposed to be an intro to white water trip for my son - some places it would have been faster to walk )
First time paddling over 25 miles in one day ( 27.5 to be exact - hence my late arrival home on Sunday night, much to my wife's dismay )

It may sound like a challenging trip and it was, but it was wonderful.
My son and I had great bonding time and lots of opportunities for team building. We really enjoyed meeting the challenges. And... a bad day paddling is better than a good day at work anytime.

The Cloquet is a beautiful river trip that has a lot of the BW / Q qualities about it. We saw no one in 70 miles for 4 days. Lots of wildlife, birds, flowers, trees, water. What more can you ask for. Well OK, warmer weather, more water in the river, time to fish.... But actually it will be one of my most memorable trips ever. But any canoe trip is a good canoe trip.  I will try to figure out how to post pictures later with my sons help. Maybe even a brief trip report /  notes summary with it.
GeneM

Brrrr! Glad you were able to make the best of it.