It has been a few years for me as well. We'd usually go in behind Kearney or South River. We'd go in opening weekend, end of April/first of May, usually 3 or 4 canoes.
One year we began the trip with light snow falling, only to have the temps reach the mid-high teens by the afternoon. That trip turned into a harrowing experience as we had to deal with howling winds and huge waves as we crossed the final, shallow lake to our vehicles. Two local, very experienced guys dumped their canoe while crossing this lake just before us.
On another trip, the temps dropped to -7 both nights. We were all cozy in our sleeping bags but of course you need to exit them to get the fire going and breakfast started. Both mornings I volunteered to get the firewood, the extra activity helped to warm me up!!
Those trips sure bring back the memories, fish, food, moose and lots of laughs!!!