APRIL 10,
WEDNESDAY, Meet 9:45 a.m.
Weekday
Hike
Where: Veterans Park, 4800 Valleydale Road, Hoover,
AL 35242
Details: Come with us on our weekday hike. Enjoy an easy 3 mile hike
on trails in North Shelby County just off Valleydale Road. Veterans Park is an 82-acre park with
numerous walking trails, a four-acre lake and a one-acre pond.
If you are retired or not working
on this particular Wednesday, 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’ sixth hike in Veterans 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 at 9:45 a.m. in the Veterans Park parking lot right beside the
building with restrooms in it at the park.
We plan to depart from there at 10:00 a.m.
Optional lunch nearby after the
hike at Mikey’s Grill.
Admission to Park: Free
Information and hike leader: Randall Adkins, 205/317-6969 cell
APRIL 13, SATURDAY, Meet 8:45 a.m.
Dayhike, Smith Mountain Fire Tower Area near Lake Martin
Details: The Smith Mountain Alpine Trail at Lake Martin is
some twenty miles north of the Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail. The highest
elevation around Lake Martin, Smith Mountain is a jagged peak mountain in the
Sandy Creek area of the lake. The top of Smith Mountain is rugged. Jagged rock
formations dissect the mountain top into a series of rough terraces that are
for the most part disconnected. A house-sized crag consisting of numerous
boulders stands out from and above the rest of the peak.
Standing majestically atop Smith
Mountain is the historic 90-foot fire lookout tower. Erected in 1939 as a
cooperative agreement between Alabama Power Company, Tallapoosa County Forest
Conservation Association, and the Alabama Forestry Commission, the tower was a
sentinel for locating forest fires for 40 years.
In November 2010, Smith Mountain
was deeded to the Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail Association (CRATA). Over a
recent period of 18 months the tower has been restored and upgraded with new
safety features and is now open to the public. Visiting time is daylight until
30 minutes after sunset, daily.
A trail begins at the base of
Smith Mountain and ascends the northern and western slope for about 0.4 mile.
The trail descends the southern and eastern slope of the mountain for about 0.6
mile back to the parking lot. The view from the tower is spectacular. In addition to the Smith Mountain Fire
Lookout Tower, there are 5 miles of hiking trails. The two main trails are the Lake Shore Trail and the Little Smith
Mountain Trail. The Island Hop Trail is accessible only during winter months
when the lake is down. The Lake Shore Trail is a two-mile trail that descends
the western slope to the lake shore and follows the shoreline for most of the
two miles. There is also the dramatic
two-mile Little Smith Mountain Trail which has four resting benches with some
spectacular views - one bench on a peninsula, two on the south face, and one on
the top.
Your hike leader has selected a
scenic 3-6-mile moderate hiking route for you to enjoy from this wide choice of
trails.
Well-behaved, properly supervised
children age 8 and over welcome.
Optional dinner in Alexander City after the hike.
Please meet at 8:45 a.m. at the Publix in The
Village at Lee Branch in Greystone.
We plan to depart from there at 9:00 a.m.
Info: Doris Hatch, 205/901-8367
APRIL 14, SUNDAY, Meet 1:45 p.m.
Second Sunday Dayhike in Oak Mountain State Park
Details: Enjoy a moderate 4 or so-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.
Please meet at 1:45
p.m. in the Oak Mountain Park office parking lot. We plan to depart from there at 2:00 p.m.
Please bring $5/person ($2.00
seniors) park admission fee plus your drink.
Info: Doris Hatch, 205/901-8367
APRIL 20, SATURDAY, Meet 10:15 a.m.
Day Hike
Where: Ruffner
Mountain Nature Preserve
Note-This
dayhike replaces the cancelled kayak and canoe trip originally scheduled on
this same date.
Details: Join
SEO for a moderate, approximately five to six-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.
This
hike will be in the eastern half of the park, and we will be hiking on largely
new trails for our group. Therefore, we will see a part of the park that
will be new to most Southeastern Outings people.
We’ll see remnants of old iron ore mining
operations which took place on the mountain. We’ll stop by and visit an
old iron ore crusher, walk around the new wetlands area, and view foundations
for ore car hoists.
Note-To
view photos of what we will see on this trip, please click on this link:
Please
be sure to click on the link and view the photographs.
This trip will involve considerable elevation
gain hiking from the lowland sections of the park to the top of Ruffner
Mountain so the leader has rated the hike moderately strenuous.
Please bring your picnic lunch and drinking
water with you. We’ll have lunch at picnic tables in an open but covered
pavilion near the wetlands area.
Meet
10:15 a.m. at the Ruffner Mountain Nature Center Pavilion. We plan to
depart from there at 10:30 a.m.
Info.
and trip Leader: Scott
Myers, 205/393-5230 or myers.scottv@gmail.com
DIRECTIONS
TO MEETING PLACE
Ruffner Mountain Nature
Center—1214 81st Street South, Birmingham. Take I-59
North from downtown Birmingham to Exit #131, Oporto-Madrid Boulevard (which is also 77th Street). Turn right at end of ramp and
go about 9 blocks to 4th Avenue South. Turn left. Go four
blocks to 81st Street South. Turn right and go to end
of road which becomes Ruffner Mountain Nature Center’s driveway. Park in large
parking area a little further up hill, to the right of the new nature center
building itself and right next to the pavilion which is a covered deck with
picnic tables. Or from the Eastwood Mall area take Oporto-Madrid north to 4th Avenue South. Turn right. Then follow
directions above.
CANCELLED
APRIL 20, SATURDAY, Meet 8:45 a.m.
Kayak and Canoe Trip, Locust Fork River
Details: A fun Southeastern Outings kayak and canoe trip on
Section 1 of the Locust Fork River in Blount County. This stretch, which several of us have canoed previously, is
fairly easy and without classified rapids.
Along the river we’ll see lots of wildflowers and stop to investigate
islands and beaches.
Novice canoeists are
welcome and may come on this trip, but each one must be partnered with an experienced canoeist in their canoe.
Please note that for this trip you
may rent one person sit-upon plastic kayaks and paddles for $30 each at the
put-in from River Beach Outfitters.
Rental fees include shuttle service.
Also the outfitter will charge a $15 fee for all private boats be
they canoes or kayaks used on this outing.
If you wish to rent a kayak from the outfitter, please notify Dan
Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or phone
205/631-4680 BEFORE April 20 to reserve your boat. Dan will then inform the outfitter how many rental kayaks he will
need to provide to SEO people for this trip.
Please note that the outfitter has only 70 one-person kayaks for rent, so
be sure you call to reserve early.
Once all their solo kayaks are reserved for April 20, there will be no
more kayaks available to rent!
Please do NOT just show up at the meeting place on April 20 without
making an advance reservation with Dan Frederick!! And if you have made a reservation to
participate and then decide to cancel, please be absolutely sure to call and
notify the trip leader. Don’t
just tell your friend if you intend to cancel!!
Life jackets are required and must
be worn. You are responsible for
finding your own boat. Bring your own,
borrow one, paddle with a friend, or rent from outfitter listed.
Bring in the boat your picnic lunch
and something to drink. Wear old shoes
you don’t mind getting wet (old sneakers work well). Also bring at least 6 feet of sturdy cord to tie up your canoe if
you don’t already have rope attached to your own canoe. If you have further questions, please call
the trip leader.
For more essential information
about this trip, please see Note for Canoe Trips at the end of this
announcement.
Please meet at 8:45
a.m. in the Cleveland Chevron Service Station.
We plan to depart from there at 9:00 a.m.
Reservations Required: You are required to contact Dan
Frederick by email seoutings@bellsouth.net or call 205/631-4680 if you plan to
come on this kayak and canoe trip.
Please advise your name, telephone number, skill level, whether you are
bringing a canoe or kayak, whether you want to rent a kayak, and whether you
need a paddling partner. You may leave
a message on Dan’s answering machine if you wish.
Info: If you have further questions, please contact Dan Frederick,
seoutings@bellsouth.net or 205/631-4680.
Note for Kayak and Canoe Trip—The kayak and canoe outing listed
in the announcement above is suitable for beginner/novice canoeists and
kayakers, but each beginner canoeist must paddle with an experienced canoeist.
When you make your reservation
with Dan, please be absolutely certain to provide ALL of the following information:
1.
Whether you want to kayak or canoe
2.
Whether you are renting a kayak from the outfitter or
bringing your own boat
3.
Your name
4.
Your telephone number or email address
5.
If you are also making a reservation for someone else coming
with you, please give the NAME of that person.
Don’t just say, “My daughter, my friend, my wife”.
6.
If you are canoeing, please give your skill level.
7.
If you have already selected a canoe partner and you are
making a reservation for your partner, too, please give the name and skill
level of your partner.
APRIL 21, SUNDAY, Meet 1:45 p.m.
Sunday Mountain Laurel Walk, Dunnavant Valley Greenway Walking Trail
(DVGWT)
Details: The trail winds along a bubbling stream, Yellow Leaf
Creek, overhung with majestic American beech, oak, and hickory. The stream
rapidly expands to 15-feet wide before the end of the trail. We anticipate seeing extensive quantities of
blooming mountain laurel all along the creek on this hike. We may offer two options. Option A involves a short moderate hike off
trail to view a pretty waterfall nearby, and then return to the main trail
where we will hike to the far end of the trail and back to the start. Option B involves easy hiking on the main
trail from start to end and return on the trail. There are footbridges over the stream, and, except for a steep
patch over a ridge, walking on the trail itself is easy. Happy hiking!
Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age 7 and over
able to walk 4 ½ miles without complaining are welcome.
Please meet at 1:45
p.m. in the DVGWT trail head on Shelby County Highway 41. We plan to depart from there at 2:00 p.m.
