So I just got back from spending 6 days at Sec Lake with my dad.  After lots of thought and ideas from the fine folks on this site we opted for the walk-in site on Sec as it seemed to offer the best of what we were looking for.  We checked out the site on Mallard but it only had one decent tent pad.  We also checked out the site on Number One Lake but the short trail to get to the site was quite hilly and we brought lots of stuff (keeping in mind my dad is 70 years old..still going strong but we don't want to push it!).  I left my house in Waterdown at 4:45 am and picked up my dad.  We were up to the Sand Lake gate by around 10:00 after a short pit stop.

We loved the site on Sec Lake.  It was a bit windy as it is out on a point but we tarped the area well and had no issues:


The view from the site is very nice and wraps all around...



We did lots of exploring around the area.  We did the drive down to Lake Travers and cooked up a breakfast at the shore, and tried a bit of fishing (no luck as usual!)...



We had met up with a Warden the day before as we hiked into Achray past the gate and did part of the Eastern Pines trail.  There were a few workers at the campground and we chatted with the Warden.  He offered us up a bag of wood (super nice of him) and gave some suggestions for hikes and stuff in the area.  After our breakfast at Lake Travers we hiked down the rail bed that follows the Petawawa for some way (we followed it for about 4-5 kms and then came back).  Some beautiful scenery along that stretch and we found a really nice site on Bypass Falls. 





Back at camp we tried out a DIY reflector oven that my dad put together using some cheap foil pans from the Dollar Store and a few bolts.  We cooked up garlic bread, pizza, brownies and chicken pot pie and it worked really well.  It was not very sturdy but we wanted to see if we liked the idea of using one before we either bought one or made a more durable one.



We also did the hike into High Falls along the cheater trail.  The trail itself is a bit boring but the end result is beautiful and well worth it.  We'd been there years ago and played in the water but it's a sight that doesn't get old.




Back at camp we had a full moon on the one night and a clear sky.  Made it hard to get decent star shots but the amount of light coming from the moon made for some different photo opportunities...



On the Saturday morning we woke up and you could tell the weather was changing.  Up until that point we had a mix of cloud and sun and temps hovered around 5-10 degrees.  But that morning was a bit colder and the clouds told us something was brewing...


By late afternoon we were sitting around the fire and the skies opened up and the most perfect snowfall began to come down.  Massive snowflakes falling slowly straight to the ground.  About 3 inches accumulated before it finally stopped.  Made for a real winter wonderland!







The next day we headed up to the Barron Canyon trail.  It was very misty out (the snow had all disappeared as it had rained over night).  We headed up the short trail and took in the vistas...




I didn't take a ton of pics but had some time to play around a bit.  Having some fun with Photoshop with this one...


Needless to say we had a really amazing trip.  So nice to be able to spend time with my dad like this in such a peaceful setting.  Over the 6 days we camped there we saw 3 people at the put-in spot who came down for a quick view and a pic.  It's a difficult time of year to pack for as you can get anything from warm days to rain to snow, but we were very well prepared and never felt uncomfortable.  We spend a lot of time on the west and highway 60 area of the Park so this was a very welcome change!