DECEMBER 4, SATURDAY, Meet 9:15 a.m.
Moderate Dayhike
Porter’s Gap on the Pinhoti Trail
Details: The Pinhoti is Alabama's long distance trail. The existing trail runs approximately 139 miles from the Tramel trailhead near Sylacauga to the High Rocks trailhead east of Piedmont near the Georgia line.
We plan to hike a rather tame portion of the Pinhoti to the east of Talladega County's Porter’s Gap. We'll climb through pretty Alabama hardwoods on a gentle trail for an elevation gain of about 600 feet over almost 2 miles. Gaining the ridge top we'll be in interesting rock formations with partially obscured views off the Talladega Mountain Ridge to the north and Shin Bone Ridge and Lizard Scrape Mountain to the south. We will eat lunch there. We will return the same way we came up.
Please bring water and your picnic lunch with you.
Optional restaurant dinner after the hike.
Please meet 9:15 a.m. at the Leeds Highway 78 gravel parking lot. We plan to depart from there at 9:30 a.m. Bring a friend or friends.
Information and Hike Leader: Francis Rushton, 205/290-5557 or email ferushton@gmail.com
decEmber 5, SUNDAY, 1:45 p.m.
Southeastern Outings Dayhike on the Montevallo Parks Trail
Details: Enjoy an easy 4-mile hike on a trail in Montevallo. The main trail is two miles one way and goes through parks, by two picturesque, flowing streams, and around a beautiful University-owned lake in a wooded park. Total hiking distance is about four miles.
This walk will be Southeastern Outings’ tenth or so hike on the Montevallo Parks trail. Come with us for a guided tour of an easily walkable trail. Please bring plenty of water and wear good walking shoes or boots. Dress appropriately for the weather.
Meet 1:45 p.m. at the McDonald’s Galleria. We plan to depart from there at 2:00 p.m. or you may meet the group at 2:45 p.m. at the parking lot beside the larger bridge over Shoal Creek which is the wide creek that flows through Orr Park between the ball fields and the open recreational area in the park in Montevallo. The bridge is right beside the parking lot along the creek at the back of the ball fields. Please email Dan Frederick at the email address below if you would like driving directions from Hoover to Orr Park sent to you before the hike.
Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age 7 and over able to complete the hike welcome.
Admission to Trail and Park: Free
Information and Trip Leader: Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or 205/631-4680
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
