April Activities
APRIL 1,
SATURDAY, Meet 8:45 a.m.
Southeastern
Outings Dayhike: Cahaba River Park in Western Shelby County north of
Montevallo
Details: The
Cahaba River is among the most scenic and biologically diverse waterways in the
United States, and the public now has access to a portion of the river in
Shelby County. Work is underway on the Cahaba River Park, a 1,500-acre
site near the Bibb County line in western Shelby County. Please come with
us for our sixth, moderately easy 3 to 5 mile-long hike in this newly created
park.
Cahaba River Park includes two sectors: a larger sector on
the north side of the river and a sector on the south side of the river that
allows for motorized access.
The river splits the park into two sites with different amenities. The
north side, which is called the Helena/Hoover Sector, includes most of the
park’s acreage. The sector comprises 1,212 acres of Forever Wild property and
127 acres of county property. The south side of the river, which is called the
Boothton/Montevallo Sector, comprises 188 acres of Shelby County property.
Cahaba River Park is a Shelby County venture that is being developed in
conjunction with the Forever Wild Land Trust, an initiative of the Alabama
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Improvements to Shelby County 251, or River Road on the north side of the
Cahaba River, are now complete. The Park offers about 15 miles of
professionally designed and constructed trails for mountain biking, hiking and
trail running; multiple parking locations at trailheads; several canoe launch
sites that will allow for short trips or runs as long as 7 miles; 2 sets of
pavilions and restroom facilities; and a caretaker’s house for a law
enforcement officer.
Our hike in the
Helena/Hoover Sector on April 1 will probably include walking on several
trails. The park’s trails offer a nice
blend of forest, river and creek views including a good view of the area’s
elevation.
Please bring your picnic lunch and
water with you on the hike.
Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age 7 and older able to walk
up to five miles without complaining are welcome to participate in this trip.
Please meet at 8:45
a.m. in the parking lot behind the McDonald’s on U.S. Highway 31 at the
Riverchase Galleria. We plan to depart from there at 9:00 a.m.
Admission
to the park is free.
Information
and Trip Leader: Tim Vann, telephone 205-515-8566, email tvann25@hotmail.com
APRILL 8, SATURDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Picnic Lunch and Moderate 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 $3 per person ($2 for children
age 2-6 and seniors age 62 and older) park admission and a beverage for
yourself.
Dayhike Details: Hike rated moderate.
There are only a few ups and downs.
Total hiking distance is approximately 5.5 miles. We plan to walk all the way around the lake
and then also walk on some additional trails in the park to make the drive time
down and back worthwhile. Well-behaved,
carefully supervised children age nine and over able to walk 6 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
APRIL 16, SUNDAY, Meet 1:45 p.m.
Southeastern Outings Sunday Dayhike in Oak Mountain State Park
Note-Our Sunday hikes in Oak Mountain
State Park are usually held on the second Sunday of the month, October through
April. However, since Easter Sunday is
on the second Sunday in April, we decided to postpone our Sunday hike in Oak
Mountain State Park this one time to April 16 which is the third Sunday.
Details: Enjoy a moderate 4 to 5-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 without complaining and complete the hike are welcome.
Share an
adventure! Bring a friend.
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. and Trip Leader: Randall Adkins, 205/317-6969
APRIL 22, SATURDAY, Meet 9:15 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Dayhike
Where: Chief Ladiga Trail, Piedmont, Alabama
Details: Join friendly folks on an easy 3.6-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, level and even
paved! Absolutely no
hills—guaranteed! On this particular
hike you will be walking on the most scenic section of the trail. This newly-paved part 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 four 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 close by in Piedmont after the hike. You will have an opportunity to wash up and
change clothes in the Eubanks Welcome Center restrooms after the hike. If you’d like to clean up and/or change
clothes, please bring your soap and towel and/or change of clothes with
you.
Please
meet 9:15 a.m. at the Applebee’s Restaurant in Trussville. We plan to depart from there at 9:30 a.m. or
meet 10:50 a.m. at the Eubanks Welcome Center on the Chief Ladiga Trail in
Piedmont.
Trip Leader and Info: Sean Boogaard, 256/365-6321.
APRIL 22, SATURDAY, Meet 9:15 a.m.
Southeastern Outings 11-Mile Bicycle Ride
Where: Chief Ladiga Trail, Piedmont, Alabama
Details: Join friendly folks for a 10.6 mile bicycle ride on
the Chief Ladiga Trail in the Piedmont, Alabama area. Ride on Alabama’s first extended rails-to-trails conversion route
on an old railroad right of way. The
trail we’ll be riding on is smooth, 8-10 feet wide and even paved.
There are no hills on this trail.
The trail is suitable for road bikes plus mountain, hybrid and urban
bicycles. Ride through towns, fields
and picturesque woodlands. No motorized vehicles are allowed on
your trail!
Bicycle
helmets are required and must be worn.
Please bring a picnic lunch and drink.
The
pace of this bicycle ride will be leisurely.
From time to time we will stop bicycling just to enjoy the scenery and
views from the four bridges over the creeks.
However, please note that
this ride is 10.6 miles long. We recommend that participants intending
to come on this outing have bicycled at least a few times during the 30 days
prior to April 16. In order to be assured
that you can ride comfortably on this trip you should probably be able to ride
at an average speed of 8-12 miles per hour on level terrain.
There will
be an optional restaurant dinner close by in Piedmont after the bicycle
ride. You will have an opportunity to
wash up and change clothes in the Eubanks Welcome Center restrooms after the
bicycle ride. If you’d like to clean up
and/or change clothes, please bring your soap and towel and/or change of
clothes with you.
Please
meet 9:15 a.m. at the Applebee’s Restaurant in Trussville. We plan to depart from there at 9:30 a.m. or
meet 10:50 a.m. at the Eubanks Welcome Center on the Chief Ladiga Trail in
Piedmont.
Reservations Required: If you want to come on this
bicycle ride, please make a reservation with Dan Frederick, email southeasternoutings@gmail.com or phone
205-631-4680. Also, if you have a
bike rack which can hold more than one bicycle, please bring it with you to
Piedmont in order to facilitate the required car shuttle and advise Dan that
you are doing so. We will probably need
to leave about two vehicles at the Eubanks Welcome Center in order to transport
the drivers of all the remaining vehicles from the end point of the ride back
to the start point to pick up their vehicles after the ride is concluded.
Information and Ride Leader: Dan Frederick, 205/631-4680, email
southeasternoutings@gmail.com
APRIL 29, SATURDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Kayak and Canoe Trip, Locust Fork River
Details: A fun Southeastern Outings kayak and canoe trip on
Section 1 of the Locust Fork River in Blount County. This stretch, which several of us have canoed many times
previously, is fairly easy and without classified rapids. Along the river we’ll see lots of
wildflowers and stop to investigate islands and beaches.
Novice canoeists
are welcome and may come on this trip, but each one must be partnered with an experienced canoeist in their canoe.
Please
note that for this trip you may rent one person sit-upon plastic kayaks and
paddles for $30 each at the put-in from River Beach Outfitters. Rental fees include life vests and shuttle
service. Also the outfitter will charge
a $15 fee for all private boats, be they canoes or kayaks, used on this
outing. If you wish to rent a kayak
from the outfitter, please notify Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or phone 205/631-4680 BEFORE
April 29 to reserve your boat. Dan will
then inform the outfitter how many rental kayaks he will need to provide to SEO
people for this trip. Please note that the outfitter has only 70
one-person kayaks for rent, so be sure you call to reserve early. Once all their solo kayaks are reserved for
April 29, there will be no more kayaks available to rent!
This
outfitter does not have canoes to
rent. However, Dan Frederick’s
daughter, Aree, currently has about 6 canoes which she is offering to rent to
people who want to canoe on this trip and who do not have their own
canoes. The charge for renting a canoe
from Aree is $50 per boat. Southeastern
Outings will pay the $15 per boat shuttle service fee for people renting canoes
from Aree. Again, please notify Dan
Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or phone
205/631-4680 BEFORE April 29 to reserve a rental canoe from Aree Frederick if
that is what you want. We will do our
best to fulfill your request.
Please do NOT just show up at the meeting place on
April 29 without making an advance reservation with Dan Frederick!! 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!!
Life
jackets are required and must be worn.
You are responsible for finding your own boat. Bring your own, borrow one, paddle with a friend, or rent from
the outfitters listed.
Please
bring with you 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, thick-soled 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 rope attached to your own canoe. If you have further questions, please call the trip leader.
For more
essential information about this trip, please see Note for Kayak and Canoe
Trips below.
Please
meet at 9:45 a.m. at the
Cleveland Chevron Service Station. We
plan to depart from there at 10:00 a.m.
Reservations Required: You are required to contact Dan
Frederick by email southeasternoutings@gmail.com or call
205/631-4680 if you plan to come on this kayak and canoe trip. Please advise your name, telephone number,
skill level, whether you are bringing a canoe or kayak and whether you need a
paddling partner. You may leave a
message on Dan’s answering machine if you wish.
If you want to come on the April 29 SEO
kayak and canoe trip AND you are renting a boat from the outfitter at the site
of the trip, in this instance you are required to call or contact ONLY the trip
leader and notify him that you are coming!
Dan will inform the outfitter how many rental kayaks he will need to
provide to SEO people for this trip.
Info. and Trip Leader: If you have further questions,
please contact Dan Frederick, southeasternoutings@gmail.com or 205/631-4680.
Note for Kayak and Canoe Trips
The kayak and canoe listed in the
announcement above is suitable for beginner/novice canoeists and kayakers, but
each beginner canoeist must paddle with an experienced canoeist.
Life jackets or personal flotation devices are required and must be worn.
Bring your own boat, borrow one, paddle with a friend, or rent a kayak or canoe
from the outfitters listed above.
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 kayak from the outfitter, want to
rent a canoe from Aree Frederick or bringing your own boat (kayak or canoe)
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.
If you have made a reservation to participate and
then decide to cancel, please be absolutely sure to call and notify the trip
leader 1 ½ hours or more before the event departure time. Don’t just
tell your friend if you intend to cancel!!
10.
If you have
made a reservation for a friend whom you have invited to come on this
trip and your friend is not coming, you must notify the leader of this
cancellation 1 ½ hours or more before the event departure time! No-shows cause considerable logistical
complications for the leader and for the outfitter!
APRIL 30, SUNDAY, Meet 1:45 p.m.
Southeastern Outings Sunday Afternoon Mountain Laurel Walk, Dunnavant
Valley Greenway Walking Trail (DVGWT)
Details: The trail winds along a bubbling stream, Yellow Leaf
Creek, overhung with majestic American beech, oak, and hickory trees. The stream
rapidly expands to 15-feet wide before the end of the trail.
We may
offer two options. Option A involves a
short moderate hike off trail to view a pretty waterfall nearby, and then
return to the main trail where we will hike to the far end of the trail and
back to the start. A few days before
Aril 30 Dan Frederick will scout Option A to ascertain whether the waterfall is
likely to be running or not on April 30.
Option B involves easy hiking on the main trail from start to end and
return on the trail. There are
footbridges over the streams, and, except for a steep patch over a ridge,
walking on the trail itself is easy. Happy hiking! Please bring your water with you.
Well-behaved,
carefully supervised children age 7 and older able to walk 4 miles without
complaining are welcome to participate.
Please meet at 1:45 p.m. in the
DVGWT trail head parking lot on Shelby County Highway 41. We plan to depart from there at 2:00 p.m.
Information and Trip Leader: Dan Frederick, 205-631-4680
Revised Southeastern Outings Covid 19 Pandemic Information
Most of you are already familiar with the stay-at-home
orders issued by the Governor of Alabama.
The Governor stated, “A person may leave his or her place of residence to participate in outdoor activity so long as the person maintains a consistent six-foot distance from other persons.
Notice of Southeastern Outings Precautionary Measures Concerning Covid 19 Virus
Southeastern Outings assures all our outings participants that we strongly desire to protect your health during this critical time. You may make your own decisions about what to do to protect yourselves, but the following measures are what we strongly suggest. We recommend taking the following measures.
We ask our participants to maintain a reasonable social distance, usually 6 or more feet, between yourself and other people. We recognize that this may not always be possible, but we encourage you to keep some distance from others as much as possible.
We will have outing announcements, but we ask you to try insofar as possible to maintain a distance of six feet between yourself and others while the announcements are given. Dan will try to project his voice effectively in such instances, and please, please do not converse with others while announcements are being made.
Optional potluck dinner parties will be cancelled until further notice.
In any case, of course, if you have flu-like symptoms (fever, aches or pains in the joints and respiratory system problems) please stay at home and do not come on outings with us! This is just common sense.
We want to point out that walking in the woods outdoors where there are not many other people present is considerably safer at this time than being in crowds of people or in heavily populated public places. Participating in our events will give you opportunities to be in the outdoors, get some beneficial exercise, and do something you enjoy with other people while still allowing you to easily and conveniently maintain safe social distancing.
