Upcoming Activities
JULY 11, SATURDAY, 9:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings River Beach Walk, Swim and Picnic
Where: Barton’s Beach in Perry County, Alabama
Details: Barton’s Beach, the largest sand and gravel beach on the entire Cahaba River, is a property owned by the Alabama Nature Conservancy. It is indeed a beautiful sight to behold! Enjoy a beach gathering on this scenic, fine-grained sand beach in Marion, Alabama. The scenery is spectacular. The floodplain broadens and creates areas of bottomland hardwood forests, oxbow lakes and extensive sand and gravel bars.
You can float on the river from the upper end of the beach to the lower end of the beach and then carry your float and walk on the beach back up to the upper end and repeat that real fun experience as many times as you like during the day. You may bring whatever flotation device you wish on this outing. Dan will bring a float air pump to the beach. See float note below for information about acquiring flotation devices.
Please bring with you your swimsuit, towel, picnic lunch and water, soft drink or fruit juice to drink. Wading shoes with substantial soles are recommended. A change of clothes (dry underwear also advised) to be left in the car is also recommended if you would like to wear dry clothes for the drive home and/or to go out to dinner with us.
A restroom is available at Perry Lakes County Park where we’ll park our cars.
The approximate 1/2-mile walk from the Perry Lakes Park parking lot to Barton’s Beach is easy since the terrain is level and the walk is all on trails. Interpretive nature trails (fire lanes and primitive paths) make walking through the woods fairly easy and fun. The two properties adjoin each other so we can walk readily back and forth between them.
Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age 7 and older able to swim are welcome, but parents are responsible for all risks to their children. All participants must be able to swim to come on this outing!
Depending on the time we leave the beach, we are likely to go for an optional dinner after the outing is concluded.
Please meet 9:45 a.m. at the McDonald’s Galleria. We plan to depart from there at 10:00 a.m.
Information and Trip Leader: Dan Frederick, email southeasternoutings@gmail.com, landline 205/631-4680
Float Note:
Substantial, fabric-covered, inflatable, vinyl, rectangular floats with a canvas-like covering like you use to ride the waves at the Gulf work best. Trip leader Dan Frederick now has 72-inch-long floats for sale for $23 each and 60-inch-long floats for sale for $15 each ONLY at the start of the river floats. Please pay either with exact change or a check made out to SEO. First come, first served.
JULY 18, SATURDAY, 9:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Kayak/Canoe Trip
Where: Tallapoosa River at Heflin, Alabama
Details: The section we will paddle is relatively easy. This is a scenic stretch of river located in a very rural area. Forty-four SEO people participated in this very popular outing in August, 2011.
Novice canoeists are welcome and may come on this trip, but each one must be partnered with an experienced canoeist in their boat.
The trip is about 7 miles long. There are two relatively easy class I rapids on this stretch.
Please note that for this trip you may rent one or two-person sit-upon plastic kayaks at the take out from Tallapoosa River RV and Outdoor Center.
Here is the schedule of outfitter charges:
- solo sit upon kayaks each $30
- tandem (two-person) sit upon kayaks each $50
- shuttle fee per owned boat $15
If you wish to rent a boat from this outfitter, please call Dan Frederick, 205/631-4680. Dan will relay your boat rental reservation on to the outfitter. Please note that the outfitter has only 40 one-person sit-upon kayaks and 10 tandem (2-person) kayaks for rent, so be sure you call to reserve early. Once all their kayaks of one type or the other are reserved for July 18 there will be no more boats of that type available to rent!
This outfitter does not have canoes to rent. However, Dan Frederick’s daughter, Aree, currently has 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 $40 per boat. Southeastern Outings will pay the $15 per boat shuttle service fee for people renting canoes from Aree. Again, please notify Dan Frederick, southeasternoutings@gmail.com or phone 205/631-4680 BEFORE July 18 to request a rental canoe if that is what you want. We will do our best to fulfill your request.
All participants must be able to swim to come on this outing!
When we arrive at the outfitter’s, you will sign a waiver, pay your shuttle or boat rental fee, use the restroom, and then the outfitter will transport all of us and our boats upriver to the put in. We will then paddle down the river to the take out where our cars are at the outfitter’s, stopping as often as we want to along the way. We may eat lunch at the outfitter’s or at a beach along the river after we have started paddling.
For more general information please see note for canoe trips below.
After the canoe and kayak trip we are planning to go to a restaurant for dinner on the way back. Hot showers are available for no charge at the outfitter’s place. If you would like to shower, wash up and/or have dinner with us at the restaurant after the canoe trip, please bring a change of clothes and your shower things to be kept in the car.
Please meet 9:45 a.m. at the Leeds Highway 78 gravel parking lot. We plan to depart from there at 10:00 a.m. If you decide to meet us at some place other than the meeting place in Leeds specified in this announcement, please notify Dan in advance and directly of this fact.
Reservations Required: You must contact trip leader Dan Frederick, southeasternoutings@gmail.com or phone 205/631-4680 if you plan to come on this canoe/kayak trip. Please advise your name, telephone number, skill level, whether you want to kayak or canoe and whether you are bringing or wish to rent a boat and whether you need a paddling partner. You may leave a message on Dan’s voice mail if you wish. Please do not just show up for this outing without making advance reservations!
Information and Trip Leader: Dan Frederick, email southeasternoutings@gmail.com, landline 205/631-4680
Note for Kayak and Canoe Trips: The kayak and canoe outing listed in the announcements 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 boat from the outfitter(s) 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, 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 boat if you don’t already have cord attached to your own boat. 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:
JULY 25, SATURDAY, 9:15 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Easy River Float
Where: From Locust Fork River from near River Road to the Mount Olive Road Bridge
Details: Easy river float on the Locust Fork River. Float in the river about 3.8 miles downstream to the new Mount Olive Road Bridge possibly stopping at river beaches along the way. Bring something to float on such as an inflatable vinyl float. See float note below for information about acquiring flotation devices.
Also please bring a picnic lunch with you from home or pick your lunch up BEFORE you arrive at the meeting place. Please do not make lots of people wait while you take time to buy lunch or have your lunch prepared after you arrive at the meeting place at 9:15 a.m. Also please bring your drink, towel and sunscreen. Pack these items in 2 plastic garbage bags with twist ties, one bag over the other. Then put the bags in your daypack and tie your pack to your float. This keeps your things dry and prevents them from floating away. Wear swimsuit and sturdy foot protection. Old sneakers work well. Bare feet, flip-flops, slip-ons and thin-soled “beach shoes” are not acceptable!
Lunch will be at a convenient stopping place along the river. Have fun swimming in the pools in the river along the way. We will walk for about 15-20 minutes through the woods to get from River Road to the start point of our float. We will provide a shuttle for drivers from the end point back to the start point before we start paddling. You must be able to swim to participate in this outing!
Well-behaved, properly supervised children age 7 and up able to swim welcome, but parents are responsible for all risks to their children.
Spring floats and inflatable boats are not permitted on SEO river floats! A spring float is a flotation device consisting of an inflatable outer oval with a small, few inch diameter cross section and a large mesh interior. Those spring floats are meant for floating in swimming pools and on lakes in still water, not for floating the Locust Fork River. They are difficult to steer and therefore unsafe for use on Southeastern Outings river floats.
Please bring a friend or several if you wish. Please meet at the Wal-Mart Gardendale parking lot no later than 9:15 a.m. ready to depart promptly at 9:30 a.m. Arriving 15 minutes before departure time will allow time to use the restrooms in the Wal-Mart, purchase a float from Southeastern Outings if you want to buy one, hear announcements concerning the day’s event, and form carpools from the Wal-Mart.
Please note that reservations are NOT requested or required for this event!
Information and Trip Leader: Dan Frederick, email southeasternoutings@gmail.com, landline 205/631-4680
Float Note Substantial, fabric-covered, inflatable, vinyl, rectangular floats like you use to ride the waves at the Gulf work best. Trip leader Dan Frederick now has 72-inch-long floats for sale for $23 each and 60-inch-long floats for sale for $15 each ONLY at the start of the river floats. Please pay either with exact change or a check made out to SEO. First come, first served.
Dan will provide hand float pumps to pump up your float or tube at the start point of the river float.
August activities (details later):
- AUGUST 1, SATURDAY, Kayak and Canoe Trip, Big Wills Creek
- AUGUST 8, SATURDAY, River Float, Locust Fork from Warrior to Kimberly
- AUGUST 15, SATURDAY, Hike and Swim, Huge Pool in Litle River, Bottom of DeSoto Falls
- AUGUST 29, SATURDAY, Kayak and Canoe Trip, Flint River
Planned activities for September include:
SEPTEMBER 12, SATURDAY, please meet 8:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Kayak and Canoe Trip
Where: On the Elk River near Elkmont, Alabama
(Details later)
