MARCH 6, SATURDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Dayhike
Where: Horseshoe Bend National Military Park
Details: On March 27, 1814, Major General Andrew Jackson‘s army of 3,300 men attacked Chief Menawa’s 1,000 Red Stick Creek warriors fortified in a horseshoe- shaped bend of the Tallapoosa River. Over 800 Red Sticks died that day. The battle ended the Creek War, resulted in a land cession of 23,000,000 acres to the United States and created a national hero of Andrew Jackson.
In March 1814, General Jackson's army left Fort Williams on the Coosa River, cut a 52-mile trail through the forest in three days, and on the 26th made camp six miles north of Horseshoe Bend. The next morning, Jackson sent General John Coffee and 700 mounted infantry and 600 Cherokee and Creek allies three miles down-stream to cross the Tallapoosa and surround the bend. He took the rest of the army - about 2000 men, consisting of East and West Tennessee militia and the Thirty-ninth U.S. Infantry - into the peninsula and at 10:30 a.m. began an ineffectual two-hour artillery bombardment of the Red Sticks' log barricade. At noon, Coffee's Cherokee allies crossed the river and assaulted the Red Sticks from the rear. Jackson quickly ordered a frontal bayonet charge, which poured over the barricade. Fighting ranged over the south end of the peninsula throughout the afternoon. By dark at least 800 of Chief Menawa's 1,000 Red Sticks were dead (557 slain on the field and 200-300 in the river). Menawa himself, although severely wounded, managed to escape. Jackson's losses in the battle were 49 killed and 154 wounded, many mortally.
Though the Red Sticks had been crushed at Tohopeka, remnants of the war party held out for several months. In August 1814, a treaty between the United States and the Creek Nation was signed at Fort Jackson near the present day city of Wetumpka, Alabama. The Treaty of Fort Jackson ended the conflict and required the Creeks to cede 23 million acres of land to the United States. The state of Alabama was carved out of this domain and admitted to the Union in 1819.
In 1828, partly as a result of his fame from the battles of Horseshoe Bend and New Orleans, Andrew Jackson was elected the seventh President of the United States.
We may have the opportunity to watch a short film and view the exhibits before we begin our hike which is rated easy. Viewing the film is contingent upon the visitor center being open on March 6. As of the time this announcement was written, the visitor center, restrooms and picnic area were closed.
Hike distance is 5.8 miles.
Admission to the park is free.
Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age eight and over welcome.
Optional restaurant dinner after the hike.
Please meet 9:45 a.m. at the Publix in The Village at Lee Branch in Greystone. We plan to depart from there at 10:00 a.m.
Info: Randall Adkins, 205/317-6969
MARCH 13, SATURDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Hike
Where: Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve
Details: Join SEO for a moderate, approximately four to five-mile, moderately strenuous 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 is likely to 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 or in the parking lot next to the pavilion if the pavilion is cordoned off on the day of the hike. We plan to start hiking at 10:00 a.m.
Info: David Shepherd, davidshep2@yahoo.com or 205/240-4681
MARCH 14, SUNDAY, Meet 12:45 p.m.
Southeastern Outings Second Sunday Dayhike in Oak Mountain State Park
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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. and Trip Leader: Randall Adkins, 205/317-6969
MARCH 17, WEDNESDAY, Meet 9:15 a.m.
CANCELED
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 there led by Shane Baugh, the Montevallo Parks and Recreation Director, and we were delighted at what we found. We subsequently had highly successful hikes there for the entire group on December 22, 2018, March 9, 2019, May 14, 2020 and November 21, 2020.
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 restrooms in the park are now completely constructed and open for your use.
The park is located 1.1 miles south of American Village on AL Highway 119 in Montevallo.
Please bring your picnic lunch, water, and a hiking pole or two with you.
Please meet at 9:00 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 9:15 a.m.
Admission to the park is free!
Information and Hike Leader: Bill Ennis, 205-405-4636
MARCH 20, SATURDAY, Meet 8:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Dayhike: Cahaba River Park in Western Shelby County north of Montevallo
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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 second, moderately easy 5.2 mile-long hike in this newly created park.
Cahaba River Park will include two sectors: a larger sector on the north side of the river and a sector on the south side of the river that will allow for motorized access.
The river will split the park into two sites with different amenities. The north side, which is being 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 being 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 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; 3 sets of pavilions and restroom facilities; and a caretaker’s house for a law enforcement officer.
Our hike in the Helena/Hoover Sector on March 20 will include walking on the Wild Turkey, Reflection and Northern Pines Trails. The three trails offer a nice blend of forest and creek views. The Northern Pines Trail offers 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 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: Jason Otis, 334-546-7648 or email jmotis@me.com
Rescheduled to April 1st
MARCH 25, THURSDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Weekday Walk Very Near Birmingham
Where: Turkey Creek Nature Preserve near Pinson in Jefferson County, Alabama
Details: You are invited to participate in an easy, fun Southeastern Outings short dayhike in the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve near Pinson. Come walk with us through this heavily-wooded area. We’ll hike on a new trail on which we have not hiked previously. The trail extends through the woods from the parking lot at the main park gate. Along the way we will also pass by a large creek with a beautiful, long, sloping waterfall in the middle of the preserve. Total hiking distance is about 3.2 miles. Please bring drinking water with you.
Please meet 9:45 a.m. at the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve Main Gate parking lot on Turkey Creek Road. We plan to depart from there at 10:00 a.m.
Please note that this is a different parking lot from where we have always parked on all of our previous hikes in the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve. Share an adventure. Bring a friend or friends.
Info. and trip leader: Christine Heckemeyer, 205-979-5730
MARCH 27, SATURDAY, Meet 8:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Dayhike, Alabama Nature Center, Millbrook. Alabama
Details: The former Lanark Estate in Millbrook, Alabama, was conveyed to provide for long-term stewardship of the property and development of an outdoor education facility that is now known as the Alabama Nature Center. The Center is a planned use facility offering hands on, outdoor-based educational programs and activities for students, educators, church and civic groups, and the general public.
The Center contains 350 acres of striking forests, fields, streams, wetlands and parks that are traversed by five miles of boardwalks and trails in three regions. Please bring $5.00 per person Nature Center admission fee with you. Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age 7 and over able to walk two miles without complaining are welcome on this outing.
Optional dinner after the hike.
Meet for this outing at 8:45 a.m. at the McDonald’s Galleria. We plan to depart from there at 9:00 a.m.
Info: Dexter Duren, 205-765-2293
