FEBRUARY 1, SATURDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
Dayhike Along the Locust Fork River from Swann Covered Bridge to Powell
Falls
Details: A moderate 3-mile dayhike and picnic along the lovely
Locust Fork River in Blount County near Cleveland, Alabama. We’ll view and drive through the genuine and
newly-restored wooden covered bridge.
Then we’ll hike along the river from the bridge and have lunch right
beside Powell Falls. This waterfall
drops about eight feet and carries a substantial amount of water. We’ll also
view sheer cliffs rising over 60 feet right above the water. See a rushing river, covered bridge, high
rock bluffs and a large waterfall—all along a one and a half mile stretch of
river.
Well-behaved, carefully supervised
children age 7 and older welcome.
Bring a friend or several if you
wish. Please meet 9:45 a.m.
at the Cleveland Chevron. We plan to depart from there at 10:00
a.m.
Info: Dan Frederick, 205/631-4680
FEBRUARY 8, SATURDAY, Meet 9:45
a.m.
Weekday Hike
Where: Ruffner
Mountain Nature Preserve
Details: Join SEO
for a moderate, approximately four-mile, big loop hike on the lovely,
well-maintained trails in the 1000+-acre Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve, one
of the largest in-city nature preserves in the country.
We’ll see remnants of old iron ore
mining operations which took place on the mountain. We’ll stop by and visit three old iron ore crushers, stop by the
entrances to three, different types of iron ore mines, walk around the new
wetlands area, see a real artesian well which still emits copious amounts of
water, and view foundations for ore car hoists and various water tanks.
This trip will involve some
elevation gain hiking between the lower sections of the park to the top of
Ruffner Mountain.
Please bring your picnic lunch and
drinking water with you.
Meet 9:45 a.m. at the Ruffner Mountain Nature Center
Pavilion. We plan to depart from there
at 10:00 a.m.
FEBRUARY 9, SUNDAY, Meet 12:45 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 without
complaining and complete the hike are welcome.
Share an adventure! Bring a friend.
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
Cancelled - to be rescheduled
FEBRUARY 13, THURSDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
Weekday Hike in Tannehill State Park
Details: Come with
us on our weekday hike. Enjoy an easy 3 or so-mile hike on
trails in an especially lovely Alabama Historical State Park. The site is very
near Birmingham!
Tannehill Ironworks Historical
State Park has more than 1,500 acres in three counties set aside for hiking,
camping and outdoor recreation. A miniature railroad chugs through the pines.
From spring through fall, the blacksmith, miller and craftsmen demonstrate
their trades. Craft shops occupy restored pioneer cabins and artisans chat with
visitors from their front porches. Steeped in history, Tannehill feels
timeless. The cotton gin, pioneer farm and working gristmill preserve a
long-gone way of life. Hiking trails retrace historic roadways. Artifacts of
Alabama’s 19th century iron industry displayed in the Iron and Steel Museum put
in perspective the massive stone furnaces, Tannehill’s awe-inspiring
centerpiece.
The same ingredients afford
today’s visitors a pleasurable escape from modern life.
If you are retired or not working
on this particular Thursday, 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’ fourth hike in Tannehill Historical State 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 9:45 a.m. at the parking
lot behind the McDonald’s Galleria on U.S. Highway 31 in Hoover. We plan to depart from there at 10:00
a.m.
Optional restaurant lunch after
the hike.
Day-Use Park Admission: $5 Adults (12 years and older); $4 Seniors (Ages 62 and older); $3 Children (Ages 6-11); ages 5 and under free
Information:
Francis Rushton, 205-290-5557
FEBRUARY 15, SATURDAY, Meet 8:45 a.m.
Dayhike
Note-Please note that we have changed the February 15 outing from what
was listed in UPCOMING EVENTS in our January newsletter and in our February
event list publicity calendar sent to various community calendars. We have now scheduled the hike along Brushy
Creek for February 15. The original
hike to Brushy Creek, previously scheduled for January 11, has now been
postponed to February 15 due to severe weather on February 11. We will NOT be hiking to Turkey Foot and
Borden Creeks at all this winter.
Where: Brushy Creek and Sougahoagdee Falls, Bankhead National
Forest
Details: The hike will be 6 miles long and is rated
moderate. We will follow a beautiful
trail which runs from the Brushy Creek Bridge along the creek. We usually observe about nine waterfalls on
this route. We should also see lovely
cliffs, hemlock trees, canyons and perhaps some additional waterfalls. If we have time, we may also visit the
nearby natural bridge (not the one
at the town of Natural Bridge) in the Natural Bridge Recreation Area of the
Bankhead National Forest.
Carefully-supervised, well-behaved
children age 8 and older welcome. Bring
a picnic lunch and water.
Optional dinner after at a
delightful Italian restaurant in Double Springs.
Please meet 8:45 a.m. at the Hayden/Corner
Park and Ride. We plan to depart from there at 9:00 a.m. Or you may meet the group at 9:20 a.m. at
the Mile 300 Rest Area on I-65.
Info: Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or phone
205/631-4680
FEBRUARY
22, SATURDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
Dayhike
Where: Lake
Guntersville State Park
Details: The hiking
trails in Lake Guntersville State Park traverse moderate to difficult terrain
and cover over 36 miles of park property. They are multi-use trails, serving as
hiking, biking and horse trails. The trails are varied with some following
alongside the banks of the Tennessee River, others leading to seasonal
waterfalls and wildflowers, and some piquing your interest just by their name
alone such as the Old Still Path and the Moonshine Trail. Our hike February 22 will be moderately
easy.
The trails we’ll hike differ in length from .5 miles to 3.5
miles yet connect with one another to form a loop of trails that add up to
about 5.5 miles. We’ll be hiking on
trails which are relatively level or downhill nearly all of the time. We’ll also be hiking right along the lake
shore for part of the hike. Pack a
picnic lunch and head out for a day exploring the ridges, waterfalls and river
in beautiful Lake Guntersville State Park.
Bring a friend or several if you wish. Well-behaved, carefully supervised children
age 8 and up welcome.
Optional restaurant dinner after. No charge for park admission.
Meet 9:45 a.m. at the Floor and Décor Store on Green Springs
Highway. We plan to depart from there
at 10:00 a.m.
Info: Randall
Adkins, 205/317-6969
FEBRUARY 27, THURSDAY, Meet 9:15 a.m.
Easy Weekday Walk
Where: Vulcan Trail inside the City Limits of Birmingham
Details: Enjoy an easy walk in the woodlands overlooking
Birmingham on a Thursday morning. The
trail is level, as it is on an old mining railroad right of way just below the
crest of Red Mountain. A previous walk
on this trail drew one of the highest numbers of participants, 67, on any
outing SEO has ever sponsored. Don’t
miss it!
Please meet at 9:15 a.m. in the Vulcan Park and Museum Parking
Lot where you would normally park to visit the Vulcan Statue and Vulcan
Park. We plan to depart from there at
9:30 a.m. Please follow the directions to the meeting place. Please note that three people got lost
trying to find the group on a previous
hike on the Vulcan Trail because they tried to use their GPS to find the
start point. Their devices misled them
to The Club and to the TV stations on top of Red Mountain, not to the Vulcan
Park parking lot!
We will walk from the big parking
lot a short distance down some new stairs to the trailhead 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 lunch 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 without complaining are welcome.
Share an adventure. Bring a friend or friends.
Info: Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or 205/631-4680
To obtain driving directions to Vulcan Park and Museum Parking
Lot.--Vulcan Park and Museum Parking Lot—1701 Valley View Drive,
Birmingham, AL 35209. Please call 205/631-4680 to obtain a
list of complete directions to Vulcan Park from all major highways in
Birmingham. You may leave your email
address and a phone message if you wish, and the directions will be emailed to
you promptly.
FEBRUARY 29, SATURDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
River Ramble
Barton’s Beach and Perry Lakes Park near Marion in Perry County, Alabama
Details: Barton’s Beach.
The area is an extensive sand and gravel beach on the Lower Cahaba River
in Perry County near Marion, Alabama.
The river floodplain broadens and creates areas of bottomland hardwood
forests, oxbow lakes and extensive sand and gravel bars there.
The Perry Lakes Park and Wildlife
Sanctuary contains about 600 acres available to the public for outdoor
recreation, education, scientific research, and other activities. Interpretive
nature trails (fire lanes and primitive paths) make walking through the woods
fairly easy and fun.
Several trees in the park have
been designated as Alabama State Champion Trees. The park lakes support a large
heron rookery along with an abundance of songbirds. A 100-foot tall canopy birding tower allows for an exciting view
of the forest and oxbow swamps.
Hikes at Barton’s Beach and Perry
Lakes Park are easy since the terrain is level and the walks are all on
trails. The two properties adjoin each
other so we can walk readily back and forth between them.
Well-behaved, properly supervised
children age 7 and older welcome.
The very special, optional dinner
will begin at 5:00 p.m. It will be the
Low Country Shrimp Boil supper, an annual event in Marion that is perfect
following our day of hiking. The dinner will be held at the historic
Marion Female Seminary Building in Marion.
The function will be very
informal. The menu is boiled shrimp
(which you peel & eat), sausage, potatoes, corn on the cob, coleslaw,
bread, and your choice of a multitude of homemade desserts.
Live musical entertainment will be
provided for your enjoyment at the upcoming shrimp boil February 29, 2020 after
our hike. Please plan to come!
Price for the meal is $20
flat charge to benefit the Perry County Historical and Preservation
Society. Only cash and checks are accepted forms of payment for the
dinner. NO CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED!
For more information concerning
the dinner, please call Kay Beckett, president of the historical society, at
334-683-8250 or 334-292-0319.
Please meet 9:45 a.m. at the
McDonald’s Galleria. We plan to depart
from there at 10:00 a.m.
