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September, October and November Activities
SEPTEMBER 22, SATURDAY, 9:00 a.m.
Canoe and Kayak Trip
with Dinner After
Where: Terrapin Creek near Piedmont,
Alabama
Details: Please plan to come on a relaxing kayak and canoe trip on Terrapin
Creek in Calhoun County near Piedmont, Alabama. The section we will paddle is relatively easy with no classified
rapids. This is a scenic stretch of
creek located in a very rural area.
Thirty-three Southeastern Outings people participated in this popular
outing in June of 2017.
Please note that for
this trip you may rent canoes for $50 each or one person sit-upon plastic
kayaks for $30 each from Terrapin Outdoor Center. Rental
fees include shuttle service, paddles and life jackets. Also the outfitter will shuttle for a $10
fee per boat all private boats used on this outing. If you wish to rent a boat from
Terrapin Outdoor Center, please call the Center BEFORE September 22 at
256/447-6666 to reserve your boat.
Please be sure you tell the Center you are boating with Southeastern
Outings.
After the canoe and kayak trip we are planning to go to a
restaurant in Gadsden for an optional dinner.
If you would like to wash up and/or have dinner with us at the
restaurant after the canoe trip, please bring a change of clothes and a
towel. Outfitter has four changing
rooms. Two are changing rooms only with
no toilets or washbowls and two are restrooms with washbowls, toilets and running
water, but no showers.
Reservations Required:
You must email seoutings@bellsouth.net or call Dan Frederick, 205/631-4680 if
you plan to come on this outing. Please advise your
name, telephone number, skill level, whether you are bringing or wish to rent a
canoe or kayak and whether you need a paddling partner. You may leave a message on Dan’s voice mail
if you wish.
If you want to come on
the September 22 kayak and canoe trip AND you are renting a boat from the
outfitter at the site of the trip, you are required to call the BOTH the
outfitter to reserve your boat AND ALSO contact Dan Frederick, also, to
notify him that you are coming! Please
do not just show up for this outing at the meeting place without making advance
reservations! And if you decide to meet
us at some place other than the meeting place specified in this announcement,
please notify Dan in advance and directly of this fact.
Depart at 9:00 a.m. from Applebee’s Restaurant
Trussville. For more essential
information about this trip, please see Note for Kayak and Canoe Trips at the
end of this calendar.
Info: If you have further questions,
please call Dan Frederick, 205/631-4680
Note for Kayak and
Canoe Trips
The kayak and canoe outings listed in each boating trip
announcement above are suitable for beginner/novice canoeists and kayakers, but
each beginner canoeist must paddle with an experienced canoeist. Life jackets are required and must be
worn. You are responsible for finding
your own boat. Bring your own boat,
borrow one, paddle with a friend, or rent from the outfitter listed.
Please bring in the boat your picnic lunch, something to
drink and a towel. Put your belongings in a waterproof dry bag in the boat. Wear old shoes you don’t mind getting wet
(old sneakers work well). Also bring at
least 6 feet of sturdy cord to tie up your canoe if you don’t already have it
attached to your own canoe or especially if you are renting a canoe. If you have further questions, please call
the trip leader.
When you make your reservation with the trip leader, please
be absolutely certain to provide ALL
of the following information:
1. Whether you want to kayak or canoe
2. Whether you are renting a boat from
the outfitter or bringing your own boat
3. Your name
4. Your telephone number or email
address
5. If you are also making a reservation
for someone else coming with you, please give the NAME of that person. Don’t just say, “My daughter, my friend, my
wife”.
6. If you are canoeing, please give
your skill level.
7. If you have already selected a canoe
partner and you are making a reservation for your partner, too, please give the
name and skill level of your partner.
8. Please do NOT just show up at the
meeting place without making an advance reservation!!
9. And if you have made a reservation
to participate and then decide to cancel, please be absolutely sure to call and
notify the trip leader. Don’t
just tell your friend if you intend to cancel!!
SEPTEMBER 23, SUNDAY,
2:00 p.m.
Dayhike in a Forest
Preserve in Homewood
Details: The City of Homewood owns two forest
preserves on Shades Mountain adjacent to the Homewood High School. Come and spend a relaxing two hours walking
with us in the lower preserve. Rated
moderately easy. Well-behaved,
carefully supervised children age 6 and older welcome. Meet 2:00 p.m. in the Homewood High School
east (nearest Brookwood Village Shopping Center) parking lot, just off
Lakeshore Drive in Homewood.
SEPTEMBER 29, SATURDAY, 11:30 a.m.
Potluck Picnic Lunch followed by Afternoon Kayak or Canoe Paddle or Afternoon Dayhike
Where: Lower Fishing Lake (now called
Beaver Lake), Oak Mountain State Park, located at the back entrance to the
park. Please note that the meeting place pavilion for this outing is
different from where Southeastern Outings has gathered in the past for this
outing!
Details: Prior to the canoeing and kayaking
and hiking, boaters, hikers and other Southeastern Outings people and guests
will get together at the Beaver Pavilion near the Flip Side Water Sports
office, (FS and formerly the Fishing Center), for a group potluck picnic. Please bring a dish of food to share with the
group. Please bring all food items to
this potluck in dishes with a cover
on them (think “like Tupperware”.)
Please do not bring your food in fast food, cardboard or open
containers. There are obvious issues
with bees, flies and yellow jackets, etc. when setting up food exposed outdoors
to nuisance insects.
You may bring a
bag of potato chips, but if you do, you should bring some more substantial food
to share in addition. Please bring also
$5/person ($2 seniors and children) park admission fee, a beverage for yourself
and folding lawn chairs if you have them.
Southeastern Outings will furnish plates, cups, knives, forks, spoons,
napkins, and ice. Picnic preparations
will begin at 11:30 a.m. We will begin eating lunch at 12:00 noon regardless of
whether you are there or not!
After lunch you can enjoy boating on the lower fishing
lake. You may bring your own boat (no
charge) or you may rent a canoe from the park by paying for your rental canoe
at the back gate to the park. The park
says they have 5 tandem canoes for rent.
Two of the canoes each used to have one broken seat in them. Rental rate for canoes is $14 per hour. Cash
only. No credit cards accepted. First come, first served.
FS has available for rent 5 solo kayaks and 8
paddleboards. Rental rate for either is
$20 per hour. Cash or credit cards
accepted by FS.
No shuttle involved in any of these boating activities. Share an adventure! Bring a friend.
We’ll launch our boats about 1:30 p.m. or so at the lake
shore.
Or you can enjoy a moderately easy afternoon hike along the
shore of the upper fishing lake (now called Lunker Lake) in the park. Hike departs from the Beaver Pavilion about
1:30 p.m.
You are welcome to participate in the boating or hiking
and skip the group picnic; you are welcome to skip the boating or hiking and
come just for the picnic; or, as most people did the previous five times we
have sponsored this outing, you are encouraged to enjoy the outdoor exercise
activities AND the picnic.
Meet at the Beaver
Pavilion which is almost straight downhill from the back gatehouse entrance to
the park.
Info: (picnic) Acyenith Alexander
205/529-2253; (boating) Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or phone 205/631-4680; (hiking)
Kerry Cooper, kkcooper22@gmail.com or 205/541-5233
SEPTEMBER 30, SUNDAY,
2:00 p.m.
Moderately easy
four-mile dayhike on the Black Creek Trail in Fultondale, just north of
Birmingham
Details: Walk on a rails-to-trails conversion
route on an old railroad right of way.
This smooth trail is wide and level.
No hills! This finely-crushed
rock surface trail goes through mostly wooded terrain.
No motorized vehicles are allowed on the trail! This outing should be lots of fun for
everyone. Well-behaved, carefully
supervised children age seven and up able to walk four miles without
complaining are welcome on this walk. This
outing has consistently been one of our most popular events since it is easy,
brief, and close to Birmingham.
Depart 2:00 p.m. from Black Creek Park in Fultondale,
Alabama.
Trip Leader: Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or 205/631-4680
OCTOBER 10, WEDNESDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
OCTOBER 6, SATURDAY, Meet 6:45 p.m.
Evening Walk
Where: Hillsboro Trail, Helena, Shelby County, Alabama
Note: This 4-mile evening walk replaces the event
originally scheduled on this date. This event is different from what was
listed in your September newsletter.
Details: Join friendly folks on an easy
four-mile evening walk on the Hillsboro Trail in Helena, Alabama. This
smooth trail is wide, paved and with only a few short hills. On
this particular walk you will be walking on a scenic trail which goes through
mostly wooded terrain.
No motorized vehicles are allowed on your trail! All
road crossings are through three tunnels under the roads. Note
this is a relatively easy outing, one which should be lots of fun for
everyone. Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age seven and up
able to walk four miles without complaining are welcome on this walk.
After the walk we’ll enjoy going for frozen yogurt at Yogurt
Mountain in Hoover. Meet at 6:45 p.m. in the front parking lot at the Helena Middle
School and depart from that location at 7:00 p.m. to begin the walk.
Info: Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net
or 205/631-4680
OCTOBER 10, WEDNESDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
Weekday
Dayhike
Where: Veterans Park, 4800 Valleydale Road, Hoover,
AL 35242
Details: Come with us on our weekday hike. Enjoy an easy 3 mile hike
on trails in North Shelby County just off Valleydale Road. Veterans Park is an 82-acre park with
numerous walking trails, a four-acre lake and a one-acre pond.
If you are retired or not working
on this particular Wednesday, you are urged to participate in the Southeastern
Outings group hike on the trails and get a feel for the location and scale of
the land.
This walk will be Southeastern
Outings’ fifth hike in Veterans Park.
Come with us for a guided tour of easily walkable trails. Please bring water and wear good walking
shoes or boots. Dress appropriately for the weather.
Please meet at 9:45
a.m. in the Veterans Park parking lot
right beside the building with restrooms in it at the park. We plan to depart from there at 10:00
a.m.
Optional lunch nearby after the
hike at Mikey’s Grill.
Admission to Park: Free
Information: Randall Adkins, 205/317-6969 cell
OCTOBER
13, SATURDAY, Meet 8:45 a.m.
Dayhike and Picnic
Where: Clear Creek National Recreation Area
Manchester, Alabama, about 15
minutes out of Jasper
Details: Enjoy easy hiking and picnic at this beautiful
location not far from Birmingham. We
plan to dayhike together and enjoy our picnic lunch in the woods. Please bring your hiking boots and picnic
lunch. Day use park admission charge is $6 per vehicle containing up to 6
people.
Optional dinner after the
outing. Hot showers available at no
charge. If you would like to shower
and/or clean up and have dinner with us at the restaurant, please bring a
change of clothes for dinner and your shower things. This outing is suitable for well-behaved, properly supervised
children age 8 and older, but parents are responsible for all risks to their
children. Please meet 8:45 a.m. at the Floor and Décor Store
on Green Springs Highway in Homewood.
We plan to depart from there at 9:00 a.m.
Info: Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or 205/631-4680
OCTOBER 14, SUNDAY, Meet 1:45 p.m.
Second Sunday Dayhike in Oak Mountain State Park
Details: Enjoy a moderate 4-mile walk in the woodlands near
Birmingham on a Sunday afternoon. This
is an excellent outing for introducing your friends to Southeastern Outings and
for making new friends who enjoy the outdoors.
Parts of this hike may be off the color-coded trails. There will be some ups and downs.
Well-behaved, properly supervised
children age eight and up able to walk the distance of about 4 miles and
complete the hike are welcome. Share an
adventure! Bring a friend. Optional dinner after the hike.
Please meet at 1:45
p.m. in the Oak Mountain Park office parking lot. We plan to depart from there at 2:00 p.m.
Please bring $5/person ($2.00
seniors) park admission fee plus your drink.
Info: Doris Hatch, 205/901-8367
OCTOBER 20, SATURDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
Picnic Lunch and Easy Dayhike
Where: Paul Grist State Park near Selma, Alabama
Details: Paul Grist State Park is one of the state’s most
uncrowded, yet scenic state parks containing hills, forests, fields and a
large, beautiful, tree-lined lake.
Prior to the dayhike we will get
together at the smaller pavilion right near the Park Office to eat our picnic
lunches. Please bring your picnic lunch
and also $2 per person ($1 for children age 6-12 and seniors age 62 and older)
park admission and a beverage for yourself.
Dayhike Details: Hike rated easy as there are only a few ups and
downs. Total hiking distance is
approximately 3 miles. We plan to walk
all the way around the lake.
Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age nine and over able to
walk 3 miles without complaining are welcome.
Please bring your drink and wear sturdy footwear.
Optional group restaurant dinner
after the hike. Reservations not
required for this outing.
Please meet 9:45
a.m. at the McDonald’s Galleria. We plan to depart from there at 10:00 a.m.
Info: Randall Adkins, 205/317-6969
OCTOBER
21, SUNDAY, Meet 1:45 p.m.
Moderate dayhike Along Buck Creek in Helena, AL
Details: Come explore the wilder side of Helena. Hike with SEO on a lovely creekside trail in
Helena in Shelby County. Total hiking
distance is less than four miles. Hike
rated moderately easy. We will be
walking briefly off trail and walking up some hills when the trail routes us
away from the creek. Well-behaved,
properly supervised children age eight and up welcome.
Meet at 1:45 p.m. in the parking lot for the Helena City
Park on AL Highway 261 in Helena. We
plan to depart from there at 2:00 p.m.
Directions
to Meeting Place: Take I-65 to Exit #247, the Shelby County Route 17,
Valleydale Road exit. Go to end of ramp
and turn right regardless of whether you come from the south or the north. Take Co. 17, which changes from Co. Route 17
to AL 261, all the way into Helena. You
will cross one railroad and then drive over a bridge with a dam and waterfall
on the left. Immediately past the
bridge, turn sharply back to the right just
before you cross a second railroad and
then drive into the parking lot for a city park right on the shore of the
creek. Distances on Valleydale Road,
(Shelby County Route 17) and then Alabama Route 261 from I-65 exit number 247
to driveway into Helena Park parking lot are 5.5 miles from bottom end of
southbound ramp and 5.9 miles from bottom end of northbound ramp.
Info: Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or 205/631-4680
OCTOBER 27, SATURDAY, Meet 8:45 a.m.
Dayhike
Where: Chief Ladiga Trail, Piedmont, Alabama
Details: Join friendly folks on an easy seven-mile dayhike and
picnic on the Chief Ladiga Trail east of Piedmont, Alabama. Walk on Alabama’s first extended
rails-to-trails conversion route on an old railroad right of way. This smooth trail is wide and level. Absolutely no hills—guaranteed! On this particular hike you will be walking
on the most scenic section of the trail which goes through mostly wooded
terrain.
No motorized vehicles are allowed
on your trail! Note this is a
relatively easy outing, one which should be lots of fun for everyone. Well-behaved, carefully supervised children
age eight and up able to walk seven miles without complaining are welcome on
this walk.
Please bring a picnic lunch and
drink. From the trail you can see
Dugger Mountain, one of the newest national wilderness areas in Alabama.
There will be an optional
restaurant dinner after the hike. You
will have an opportunity to shower and/or wash up and change clothes in the
Piedmont Civic Center after the hike.
If you’d like to shower and/or change clothes, please bring your shower
things and/or change of clothes with you.
Showers are free!
Please meet 8:45 a.m. at the
Applebee’s Trussville. We plan to depart from there at 9:00 a.m. You may also have the option to meet the
group at 10:30 a.m. at the Piedmont Civic Center.
Trip
Leader and Info: Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or
205/631-4680
NOVEMBER 3, SATURDAY, 8:45 a.m.
Moderate Dayhike
Where: Cloudland Canyon State Park, Trenton, Georgia
Details: Hike along the highly scenic rim trail around this
lovely canyon in Northwest Georgia and then down into the bottom of the canyon
itself. The rushing stream in the
bottom of the canyon has two good-sized waterfalls which we’ll view close
up. Lunch will be on a large, flat rock
outcropping from where we’ll have beautiful, panoramic views across the
canyon. Fall color should hopefully be
at its peak.
Please bring picnic lunch, plenty
of water, and $5.00 per vehicle
park entry fee. Parents, please be
aware that there are very high, steep cliffs with no guard rails adjacent to
the rim trail. Delicious, optional
restaurant dinner afterwards. You may
wish to bring in the car a change of clothes for dinner, but this is not
required.
Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age ten and up welcome. Please meet 8:45 a.m. at the
Applebee’s Trussville. We plan to depart from there at 9:00 a.m.
NOVEMBER 10, SATURDAY, 8:45 a.m.
Dayhike,
Flagg Mountain in Coosa County
Details: This will
be a moderately strenuous loop hike of about 4-6 miles that follows in
part Forest Service roads. Flagg
Mountain is the southernmost mountain over 1000 ft. high in the Appalachian
Range. Atop the mountain we will see
(but not climb up) one of only two stone towers built in Alabama in the 1930s
by the CCC. We will also be able to explore some of the new 4-mile Flagg
Mountain Trail being built by the Alabama Hiking Trail Society (AHTS) as one
leg of the Eastern Continental/Great Eastern trails running from the Everglades
to Canada. We may have spectacular views all the way to Cheaha Mountain if the
day is clear. We’ll also see nearby log
and stone cabins, also built by the CCC, which
are in various stages of restoration. Although intended to become a
state park (as Cheaha did), the proposed Flagg Mountain Park was never
completed. Flagg Mountain became part of the Weogufka State Forest, and the
area is now managed by the AHTS.
We are very pleased that Jeff
Hayes, President of the AHTS, will be leading this hike for us. This is the first time we have visited this
site since March, 2010. Optional dinner
after hike.
Please meet 8:45 a.m. at the Publix in The
Village at Lee Branch in Greystone. We plan to depart from there at 9:00
a.m.
NOVEMBER 11, SUNDAY, Meet 1:45 p.m.
Second Sunday Dayhike in Oak Mountain State Park
Details: Enjoy a moderate 4-mile walk in the woodlands near
Birmingham on a Sunday afternoon. This
is an excellent outing for introducing your friends to Southeastern Outings and
for making new friends who enjoy the outdoors.
Parts of this hike may be off the color-coded trails. There will be some ups and downs.
Well-behaved, properly supervised
children age eight and up able to walk the distance of about 4 miles and
complete the hike are welcome. Share an
adventure! Bring a friend. Optional dinner after the hike.
Please meet at 1:45
p.m. in the Oak Mountain Park office parking lot. We plan to depart from there at 2:00 p.m.
Please bring $5/person ($2.00
seniors) park admission fee plus your drink.
Info: Doris Hatch, 205/901-8367
NOVEMBER
17, SATURDAY, 8:45 a.m.
Dayhike
Where: Pinhoti Trail near Coleman Lake in Shoal Creek Ranger District, Talladega
National Forest. Cleburne County, Alabama
Details: A moderate
4 to 4.5 mile hike in one of the most interesting parts of the Talladega
National Forest. We'll start at the Coleman Lake trailhead and wander first
through mountain longleaf pine habitat. We'll cross a low ridge with hardwood
forests along Coleman Lake below. We'll reach Old Shoal Church and graveyard,
one of 3 remaining log cabin churches in Alabama, before returning. Our route
back will take us along the Coleman Lake trail, providing a different view as
we return to the trailhead.
Well-behaved, properly supervised children age 7 and older
welcome. This hike is relatively flat but rated moderate because of its
length.
Optional
dinner after hike.
Please meet at 8:45
a.m. in the Leeds
Highway 78 gravel parking lot.
We plan to depart from there at 9:00 a.m.
NOVEMBER 25, SUNDAY, 1:45 p.m.
Easy Walk
Where: Vulcan Trail inside the City Limits of Birmingham
Details: Enjoy an easy walk in the woodlands overlooking
Birmingham on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
The trail is level, as it is on an old mining railroad right of way just
below the crest of Red Mountain. This
walk is an ideal activity for those Thanksgiving guests who have been in your
house for several days and with whom you are looking for something to do to get
them out of the house. A previous walk
on this trail drew one of the highest number of participants, 67, on any outing
SEO has ever sponsored. Don’t miss it!
Please meet at 1:45 p.m. in the Vulcan Park and
Museum Parking Lot where you would normally park to visit the statue and Vulcan
Park. We plan to depart from there at
2:00 p.m. We will walk from the big
parking lot a short distance down some new stairs to the trail head and then on
the trail to Green Springs Highway and back.
The formerly unpaved section of the Vulcan Trail has recently been
widened and resurfaced.
After the walk is completed, there
will be an optional dinner at Jim 'N Nick's 11th Avenue Grill at Five Points
South. Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age 7 and older
able to walk 4 miles welcome.
Share an adventure. Bring a friend or friends.
Info: Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or 205/631-4680
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