December Activities
DECEMBER 8, WEDNESDAY, Meet 9:15 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Weekday Hike
Where: The new Shoal Creek Park, Montevallo, Alabama
Details: A pleasant 3-mile hike through fields and woods on a well developed loop of trails through Montevallo's newest park.
Southeastern Outings has planned an easy, approximately 3-mile hike in the new Shoal Creek Park in Montevallo. On October 30, 2018, ten people participated in an SEO scouting trip and we were delighted at what we found. On December 8, 2021 we’ll ramble through fields, along creeks and through riverine forestland. Easy walking. Extra credit trip to Ebenezer Swamp boardwalk for those who prefer a little extra distance. The total hiking distance if you hike in both places is about 3.5 miles.
This 167-acre park has some new trails (2.1 miles and 1.6 miles) already constructed and some less developed trails which we will also hike. One trail does follow Shoal Creek for some distance.
The park is located on both sides of Shoal Creek about 2 miles upstream from Orr Park where we have begun our past hikes on the Montevallo Parks Trail. The park’s location is 1.1 miles south of American Village on AL Highway 119 in Montevallo.
The restrooms in the park are now completely constructed and open for your use.
Please bring your picnic lunch, water, and a hiking pole or two with you.
Please meet at 9:45 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 10:00 a.m.
Admission to the park is free!
Information and Hike Leader: Francis Rushton, 205/290-5557 or ferushton@gmail.com
DECEMBER 11, SATURDAY, Meet 8:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Moderately Strenuous Dayhike on the Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail System at Lake Martin, near Alexander City, Alabama
Details: Located on the banks of Lake Martin, Alabama’s largest and allegedly most beautiful lake, the area offers linked loop trails. Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trails are among the most scenic and diverse hiking trails in Alabama. The trails skirt the shoreline of beautiful Lake Martin, a 40,000-acre, 700-mile-shoreline lake. Other areas of the trails are high rocky ridges and bluffs, some with vistas of 6 to 8 miles overlooking Kowaliga Bay, Chimney Rock, and others along rocky shoal creeks, and rippling brooks. The trails are routed through a variety of flora and fauna. There are high rocky ridges with mountain long leaf pine, mountain laurel, low and high bush blueberry, and lush hardwood forests that include redbud, sourwood, dogwood, native azalea, umbrella and big leaf magnolia. Large thickets of Catawba Rhododendron are numerous. Deer, turkey and numerous bird species, including bald eagles, can be seen along the trail.
The trails are built to blend into nature, free of bicycles, motorized vehicles, horses or other pack animals. All trails are built on Alabama Power Company land that is set aside as naturally undeveloped.
The trails are well-marked and maintained, the terrain is varied, and the scenery on a clear day is spectacular. We will hike about 4 miles. We will see longleaf pine and mixed hardwood forests, open airy sections, and other trail sections under fuller forest canopy. We also will see pristine lake views, boats, birds, boulders and deer tracks.
Please wear hiking boots! Please meet 8:45 a.m. at Publix in the Village at Lee Branch in Greystone. We plan to depart from there at 9:00 a.m.
Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age ten and over welcome.
Optional restaurant dinner after.
Information and Hike Leader: Dan Frederick, email seoutings@bellsouth.net or phone 205/631-4680
DECEMBER 12, SUNDAY, Meet 12:45 p.m.
Southeastern Outings 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 12:45 p.m. in the Oak Mountain Park office parking lot. We plan to depart from there at 1:00 p.m.
Please bring $5/person ($2.00 seniors) park admission fee plus your drink.
Info: Randall Adkins, 205-317-6969
DECEMBER 26, SUNDAY, Meet 1:45 p.m.
Southeastern Outings Easy Walk
Where: Vulcan Trail inside the City Limits of Birmingham
Details: Enjoy an easy walk in the woodlands overlooking Birmingham on the day after Christmas. 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 Christmas 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.
There is no charge to participate in this hike and there is no charge for admission to either Vulcan Park or the trail.
Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age 7 and older able to walk 4 miles welcome. After the walk is completed, there will be an optional dinner at Jim 'N Nick's 11th Avenue Grill at Five Points South.
Share an adventure. Bring a friend or friends.
Info: Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or 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.
