Category: St. Clair Outdoors

Competition finds home at Horse Pens 40

Story by Paul South
Photos by Mackenzie Free

There’s something on target about one of the newer events, the Southeast Regional Slingshot Tournament, to come to Horse Pens 40.

The park, an ancient ground settled by native peoples – including the Creek and Cherokee – centuries ago has been transformed through the years through war and new settlers, but its ancient trees and boulders remain largely unchanged.

While owned today by the Schultz family, the park has a simple mission, driven by the presence of more than 60 rare, threatened, protected or endangered species, as well as the other flora and fauna in the park: “Leave No Trace” of human hands.

By the 1950s, Horse Pens was home to craft fairs. By the 1960s, the new phenomenon of outdoor music festivals drew bluegrass and Americana roots music legends like Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, Lester Flatt, Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss and Birmingham’s own Emmylou Harris, delighting audiences hungry for the high lonesome sound.

Music still rings, and artisans and craftspeople still show their wares there, but now, there is even more to what has become a global destination point

The park is known as one of the best bouldering courses in the world with its massive rocks beckoning climbers from near and far. Horse Pens is home to the Triple Crown championship of bouldering, raising its profile much higher than the allure of its boulders that draw competitors from around the world.

Sling shooting thriving atop Chandler Mountain

Add to its already established bouldering reputation the competitive slingshot tournaments, one of only a handful in the United States, and Horse Pens is becoming a sports destination point all over again. A one-time weapon of war older than the Scriptures became a kid’s toy in the 1940s and is now part of a small but growing sport. The roots of the slingshot can be traced back 2,500 years.

Competitively speaking, what once meant knocking a Campbell’s soup can off a fencepost with a rock is now nailing tiny targets from more than 30 feet away.

 In late September, Dan Ambrosius of Steele won the most recent Southeast Regional tournament at Horse Pens, one of five such tournament titles he’s captured nationwide.

Growing up in the jungles of the Philippines as the son of American missionaries, he began shooting slingshots as a toddler. But make no mistake, Ambrosius’ first slingshot was no toy, but a survival tool.

“As jungle missionaries, when I was a small child, all the tribal people had slingshots. I was introduced to a slingshot at three or four years old.

“Over there, we ate whatever we shot – birds, small animals, all kinds of stuff. So, coming to this country, I’d always had a slingshot and always been interested in it. About seven or eight years ago, I found out through social media that tournaments existed. For all I knew, I was the only one in this country who was good with a slingshot, period, because I’d never met anyone that could shoot as well as me, ever,” he says.

When he entered his first competition, the prestigious East Coast Slingshot Tournament in Alverton, Pa., he learned quickly that there were indeed others who could shoot as well, if not better. Ambrosius finished in the top 10, but competitive sling shooting had won his heart.

He quickly learned others were better, and the pressure of competition was far different than tracking animals in steamy Filipino jungles.

“I didn’t realize how accurate you had to be,” he says. “My slingshotting up until tournaments was always designed to kill things. It was about the biggest ammo as fast as you can shoot it and kill the game. In tournament, it’s either you hit the target, or you don’t.”

While the Pennsylvania tournament is highly regarded in slingshot circles, the Southeast Regional at Horse Pens is perhaps the sport’s fastest-growing competition in the United States because of a growing number of shooters in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and the Carolinas. About 60 shooters competed in the 2021 event, renewed after COVID-19 forced cancellation of the 2020 event.

Horse Pens 40 Park Manager Ashley Ensign said that bouldering remains the biggest draw at the park, which makes it a big economic driver for St. Clair and neighboring counties.

“The largest rock-climbing competition in the world is the Triple Crown Bouldering Series and Horse Pens is part of that,” Ensign says. “Even with the current situation we have now (the pandemic), we had over 300 competitors and roughly 400 spectators, and all from out of state.”

Horse Pens also hosts an annual Songwriters’ Festival, Ensign says. But she gives high marks to the slingshot event. “It’s not something you see every day, so it’s always fun,” she says.

While sling shooting is growing slowly in the United States, it’s wildly popular in other countries, particularly in Europe and Asia. As of now, China is the world’s superpower in the sport. Asked to compare the sport’s popularity overseas to the United States, Ambrosius doesn’t mince words.

“It’s not even close,” he says. “In the United States, there are 10 to 15 of us that would be considered world-class shooters – that could go overseas and compete in a tournament. I’ve been invited to China, Italy, Spain, England, all expenses paid, because they want Americans to come over and participate.”

 He adds, “There are only a few of us (in the States), whereas in China, there are millions and millions of competitive shooters. Gymnasiums are full of shooters all over the country every weekend in China with competitive slingshot shooting. It’s a huge, huge business.”

 The reason slingshots are so popular? More restrictive gun laws.

 “They don’t have the freedom with firearms that we do in this country,” Ambrosius says.

There’s a push to make it an Olympic sport. Once that happens, Ambrosius believes the sport will take off in popularity.

Companies are banking on that. The internet features a variety of sites, where shoppers can find slingshots ranging in price from $5 to high-tech versions up to $1,000 or more. The iconic American toy company Wham-O first marketed the slingshot after World War II.

And unlike other competitive sports where the competition is sometimes cutthroat and money pulls the strings, the slingshot – a sport propelled by an elastic band – is not about money, but about camaraderie. Trophies for the winners – not cash – are the only tangible rewards.

But there’s another reward to the slingshot, Ambrosius says. Taking aim with this childhood toy seems to melt away the years like ice on an August Alabama sidewalk.

“It just takes you to a different place,” Ambrosius says. “You become younger and more playful. It takes you to a place that’s not so much in the present. You’re a kid again, and you’re doing something that’s really, really fun. It’s just so fun to hit a can with a slingshot. It’s just fun.”

Pair of Pell City engineers ‘engineer’ a Grand Canyon adventure

Story by Scottie Vickery
Submitted photos

John Jones remembers reading a quote years ago that’s been on his mind quite a bit recently. The gist is that if you pick something to tackle, and it doesn’t seem impossible at the beginning, you didn’t choose something hard enough.

Jones and Dennis Vandegrift, his friend and co-worker, don’t have to worry that they set their sights on something too easy. Their idea to hike the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim in two days was a daunting one. Five months after achieving their goal, they’re still amazed at what they accomplished.

“A little over a year ago, (we) hatched an insane idea” Jones said in a Facebook post after returning home. “We thought we should try to hike from one rim of the Grand Canyon to the other and back over two days. 110,000-ish steps, 45 miles, 20,000 feet of elevation change, and I’m not sure how many training hikes and runs later, we did it. I’m honestly more than a little surprised we pulled it off.”

Not many people do. According to the National Park Foundation, a partner of the National Park Service, fewer than 1% of the Grand Canyon’s 5 million annual visitors even venture below the rim – and many of those just hike a few miles. The ones who hike rim to rim, typically over two days, are even fewer.

Then there’s Jones and Vandegrift, who did it twice. They hiked from the North Rim of the canyon to the South Rim in 12 hours, spent the night in a hotel, and hiked back from the South Rim to the North the next day.

“It was cool, but it was a little bit nuts,” Jones said. “The more it’s in the rearview mirror, the cooler it becomes.”

The planning stages

Both Jones and Vandegrift, structural engineers with Barnett Jones Wilson in Pell City, are avid outdoorsmen. Jones, 49, is a hiking and backpacking enthusiast while Vandegrift, 41, competes in triathlons and owns Off-Road Multisport, which hosts swim/bike/run/paddle off-road race events in Alabama and Northwest Florida.

The two are always up for a challenge, and Jones proposed this one. “I mentioned it to Dennis, and it took him five seconds to say, ‘We’re doing it,’” Jones recalled.

They had to work quickly since lodging sells out a year in advance. “We hatched this plan 54 weeks before we could do the trip, so we had to make a lot of quick decisions,” Jones said. “The first day we were eligible, we booked everything.”

Their goal was to hike rim-to-rim-to-rim, but they decided to arrange for a shuttle at the South Rim in case they got there and weren’t up to hiking back. “We thought it would be a cheap insurance plan,” Jones said. Because of COVID, though, there were fewer shuttle options than normal, and all were booked. “At that point, it was all or nothing,” he said.

They began training in earnest. “I felt like I was the weak link,” Jones said. “He could have shown up ready to do it, but I definitely had a lot of conditioning to do. I was more worried about my general fitness level, and Dennis was more concerned about his feet and knees.”

The Grand Canyon hike is different from most, Vandegrift said, and they kept that in mind while training. “It’s like a reverse mountain climb,” he said. “You’re doing the descent first and then the ascent at the end when you’re tired. Normally, you get to the top, and you have gravity to bring you home.”

Another issue is temperature changes. The North Rim doesn’t open until May 15 because it’s got a much higher elevation than the South Rim, and ice and snow can be issues. “The first morning, it was 25 degrees when we left,” Vandegrift said. “By midday at the bottom, it was 90.”

Training included lots of hikes at Mt. Cheaha, and Jones had a previously scheduled hike in Wyoming. He also headed to Clingmans Dome in the Smoky Mountains after planning a hike that mimicked the Grand Canyon one as closely as possible.

“It was about 25 miles with 9-10,000 feet of elevation changes,” Jones said, adding that he started high, hiked down first and then back up. “I figured if I couldn’t do it in the Smoky Mountains when it’s 50 or 60 degrees, I couldn’t do it in the Grand Canyon when it’s in the 90s.”

Hiking the canyon

The two headed to Arizona on May 22. They camped out the night before the first day of hiking, which Jones said was their only big mistake. “We should have stayed in a hotel,” he said. “We had to break camp that morning, which took a long time, and it was cold. We were shooting to leave at 5 a.m. but it was more like 6:30.”

Each carried only the bare necessities in his pack – a toothbrush, water, change of clothes and two days’ worth of trail food, Vandegrift said. They planned to eat dinner at the hotel once they made it to the South Rim that evening, and there were water stations every three to five miles, so they never had to carry more than two quarts of water. “The packs probably weighed 18 or 20 pounds starting out, which is light for a pack,” he said.

One of the first things they noticed before setting out was all the warning signs around the Grand Canyon. “Hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon is optional. Hiking out is mandatory,” one read. Even still, they were determined. “I think where most people get in trouble is when they don’t respect it and understand it going into it,” Vandegrift said. “We knew it was going to be hard as hell.”

By the time they reached the bottom of the canyon on the first day, they were feeling it. They stopped for lunch and a cold glass of lemonade at Phantom Ranch, which offers the only lodging below the rim of the canyon and is accessible only by foot, mule or by rafting the Colorado River. Although many hikers stay the night, Jones and Vandegrift still had the ascent to the South Rim ahead of them.

“At one point we still had to hike nine more miles and gain 4,400 vertical feet to get to the hotel room,” Jones said, adding that the distance included a three- to four-mile section they later learned is nicknamed Heart Attack Hill. “We both had heart monitors on our watches, and they were beating pretty fast,” he said with a laugh.

By the end of the first day, all they could think about was food and a hot shower. “Our hotel room had a claw-foot tub that you had to step into. When we walked in and saw it, we were like, ‘Are you kidding me?’” After a hot dinner and a load of ibuprofen, they went to sleep only to be awakened by horrible leg cramps.

Getting up to catch the 5 a.m. shuttle to the South Kaibab trailhead was painful, and they started the hike in the dark with headlamps. A few miles in, they were rewarded with an incredible sunrise. “There are 360-degree views, and the sun just illuminates everything,” Vandegrift said. “It was incredible.”

Although they had seen some beautiful scenery and a full-size ram that jumped out of nearby brush the day before, they both agreed that the South Kaibab Trail, which is very steep, was their favorite. “In the really steep sections, you could look down and see as many as 10 switchbacks,” or zigzags of the trail, Jones said.

“You could see someone down below, and they seemed so close, like you could throw a rock to them, but they were probably an hour ahead on the trail,” Vandegrift added.

The views were spectacular. “If we had hiked that section and spent twice as much time there, it still wouldn’t have been enough; it was just so scenic,” Jones said. Vandegrift agreed. “You can take a million pictures and it doesn’t begin to capture it.”

Mission accomplished

By the time they made it back to the North Rim about 5 p.m., they were hungry, tired and had a 3-hour drive to their hotel ahead of them. They got a bison burger at a drive-through, turned in early, headed home the next day, and were in the office the day after that. “I don’t think we had that ‘we did it’ feeling until that first day back in the office,” Vandegrift said.

Although they were disappointed that they never saw a herd of bison, which are often spotted at the North Rim, Jones and Vandegrift said they loved the experience and the challenge. “The first three miles and the last three miles each day were the hardest,” Jones said.

Although they pushed themselves, they never considered quitting. “At the end of the first day when we still had a few miles left to go, I was feeling apprehensive about the second day,” Vandegrift said. “But you settle in, get down to business and start walking. It was two really long days of hiking, and there are times we were hurting, but it was never, ‘We’re about to die.’ We never thought that we weren’t going to finish.”

Jones said he was proud of their achievement and the determination that carried them through to the end. “My daughter runs cross country, and she would go to Cheaha with me and Dennis for some of our 13- to 14-mile training hikes,” he said. “She’d be running up the hills, and I was struggling to get up them.

“She saw me struggling in November with something that shouldn’t be that hard if you’re going to do what I signed up to do,” he said. “Then she saw what I did and saw what you can accomplish if you put your mind to it. That’s a pretty good feeling.”

Run at Millcreek MX Park in Pell City

Story, photos and video
by Graham Hadley

Mud Factor bills itself as a “seriously fun, 5K obstacle run,” and it delivered exactly that.

Despite days of heavy rains leading up to the day before the race, organizers were able to put together a spectacular event at Pell City’s Millcreek MX Park just off the Eden Exit of I-20.

David Carpenter, one of the event organizers, said their run is supposed to be more family oriented than many of the more hard-core obstacle runs and tries to draw a diverse crowd of people who otherwise might not tackle such a challenge.

“We call ourselves a fitness-based entertainment event, very family oriented. Our obstacle course is more family friendly,” he said.

The early runs are for mixed groups of children and adults – people of all ages and athletic abilities. One lap is half the run, and there are no penalties if you opt out of an obstacle.

“One of our MCs says it best: ‘If you are staring up at an obstacle. And it is staring back at you, and you say, ‘Oh heck no.’ You can walk around it,’” Carpenter said.

There are also no 1st-place awards – but everyone gets a medal for finishing.

“The reality is that we are just trying to get people off the couch and have fun with their friends and family. Participants often help each other over the obstacles. There is no 1st place or last place. We are a fun run. No times are kept,” he said.

Don’t be fooled, though, this is still a challenging obstacle and mud run. And though one lap gets you through the entire course with all the obstacles, it takes two go-arounds to hit that 5K mark. Those runs are usually reserved for the afternoon.

The course has the usual suspects of obstacles – mud holes, inclines and ladders, ropes and crawls, walls, and of course, water slides. All the extra rain this year made for some tricky spots – areas that are normally only a couple of feet deep required swimming in some spots. Like the rest of the obstacles, there were plenty of Mud Factor staff on hand, especially around the deep water, to help anyone who needed it.

Safety was always at primary concern. In addition to the staff monitoring the obstacles, there were water stations, places to store you backpacks and gear – the Mud Factor employees had every contingency covered.

For spectators and participants, there were food trucks, music, and the runners got bandannas and free stick-on tattoos.

Despite the weeks of wet weather leading up to the run, the actual day of the event was perfect – clear skies and warm but not sweltering weather – the perfect combination for the perfect outdoors event.

With the increase in COVID-19 cases, event organizers took extra precautions to keep everyone safe – there was plenty of room for everybody to social distance, but masks were required in the starting area where everyone was crowded together at the beginning of each run. Masks were encouraged, but not required, in any areas where people were close together. Nobody was required to run with a mask.

“Mill Creek is the perfect venue right now,” Carpenter said. The park is a top MX competition bike track that is privately owned. Some of the other venues Mud Factor uses are in government-owned facilities and have to follow very strict COVID guidelines. Millcreek did not have such stringent requirements, which made the run much more fun for the participants.

That’s not the only reason, though, that Carpenter likes the park so much.

“It’s ideal. It has good entrance and exits, there is plenty of parking, the track and surrounding areas are dirt with some great terrain,” he said.

But most important is the easy access to water.

“At other parks, we are a national mud-run company, so especially out West, we have to often port in our own water for the obstacles and the mud. That is a lot of water, a lot of work. Millcreek had all of that right there,” he said.

“We are celebrating 10 years this year, and the MX parks are ideal. The tracks are permitted for crowds, they have the parking … it makes it easy.”

And true to the organizers’ intent, Mud Factor drew people from all walks of life and ages and from all over the region.

One trio was there from Madison because of a bet. Russ said with a smile that he was at the race because “Jamaicans run faster than Americans.” He had bet two of his friends from Jamaica, Ronae and Sachell, that America would win a track event they were watching on TV. “And there they went over the finish line, Jamaica, one, two, three, so here I am,” he said.

One of the things that made the race attractive to that group, who also brought young Sadike with them, was that the course was designed for athletes and non-athletes alike and was just a fun way to get out and get some exercise.

At the finish line, Team Jamaica Ronae and Sachell kept celebrating by throwing themselves back into the giant pool of water that served as the final obstacle, huge grins on their faces, as Russ filmed them from the shore with his phone, a grin plastered on his face as well.

That was the overall feeling from the other runners – a fun, athletic day in the sun and a chance to get out after a long year cooped up at home.

Nicole from Locust Fork said she had heard about the event on Facebook and that she liked the family-friendly atmosphere.

“This is great for kids, a good family event. We can go around any obstacles that are too hard for them,” she said.

A lot of the competitors were there in groups and said they often do these kinds of events together on a regular basis.

Candice, Jason, Lauren and Niles were one such group from Birmingham.

“We have done runs together before. We heard about it on Facebook and decided to come out,” Niles said.

Lauren agreed, “We saw it online, and it just looked like a lot of fun.”

The organizers enjoy the events almost as much as the runners, Carpenter said, and they have every intention of returning to St. Clair County for future mud runs.

“We have been doing this for 10 years. It is a lot of work. If we did not love doing this, we would not still be doing it,” he said. “I definitely see us returning here in the future.”

For people looking for additional Mud Factor races here, Carpenter did say that the events are usually named after the largest nearby metro area – so even though the race is held at Millcreek MX Park in Pell City, it is advertised as the Birmingham Mud Factor race.

One of the largest horse-riding venues in Alabama

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Graham Hadley

If a gaggle of giggly girls is any indication, Heathermoor Farm is the greatest place in the world to take horseback riding lessons. A visit to the farm any given hour on any given Saturday reveals at least a dozen young teens and pre-teens scattered about. Those who are not actually astride the horses are hanging out and hanging all over each other smack in the middle of the indoor arena. They are laughing, playing on their cellphones and, occasionally, watching their peers take lessons.

“I want to do a winter tournament, the fun shows and then the National Academy Finals,” says 10-year-old Evie Campbell, who lives in Hoover. She has been taking lessons since September 2020, having discovered Heathermoor through her good friend, Alex Mountz, who also takes lessons there. “She talked about it, I looked into it and told my mom.”

Evie has always liked horses and feels quite comfortable on the back of one. “My first time here, I was a bit nervous, but I was excited, too,” she says. “Now I take lessons twice a week.”

Katie Bentley of Trussville, who takes lessons Thursdays and Saturdays, also discovered horseback riding through a friend. She now owns a mare named Secret, a gift from her mother, Amy Jones, for Katie’s 12th birthday in November 2020. “I love it,” she says of riding. “It makes me feel calm and relaxed. I go there three times a week. I just ride for fun on the third (non-lesson) day or play with Secret.”

Heathermoor Farm can claim more than just the adulation of a bunch of young girls, though. With over 100 equestrians, both men and women ages five to 68, either taking lessons or training for horse shows, it is probably the largest horse-teaching facility in the state of Alabama.

“We’re the only American Saddlebred horseback riding academy in the Birmingham area with an indoor arena,” says co-owner Jennifer Fernambucq.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said, “There’s something about the outside of a horse that’s good for the inside of a man.” Jennifer knows exactly what Churchill meant and how the teenage girls feel about horses. “It’s an incredible thing, the way a horse touches a human being,” Jennifer says. “It’s such a gift.”

She was 10 years old when a friend in her ballet class took her to Heathermoor, where the friend was taking lessons. Started in 1965 by John and Anita Cowart, the farm was located off Highway 119 in Jefferson County then. It only took one visit to hook Jennifer for life.

Later, when she was in her early 20s and working for a financial consulting firm, she received a phone call from Mrs. Cowart. She needed an instructor, was Jennifer interested? “I had not ridden in several years,” she says. “College, then becoming a working mom, kept me busy. But I quit my job and joined her. It worked well. I could stay with my babies mornings and teach in the afternoons.”

Five years later, the Cowarts retired, and Jennifer and a business partner bought the farm. That was in 1999. “In a few years, we dissolved the partnership, and my partner started her own stable, Stepping Stone in Columbiana,” Jennifer explains. “I’ve been at it 20 years now.”

She and her husband, Richie, who met through their love of horses, moved Heathermoor to its present, 16-acre spot on Carl Jones Road in Moody five years ago. They built a 42-stall barn and quickly filled it up. Constructed in a U-shape, with the 55-by-175-foot enclosed arena in the center and 200 feet of stalls along each side. The overflows are in the pastures, for a total of 55 horses.

 On one side, the stalls are home to performance or show horses owned by individuals. On the other, which is the lesson or school side, some animals are owned by Jennifer and Richie and others by individual riders. The door to the center of the “U” features a long window with barstool seating that allows parents, grandparents and friends to observe the arena riders without disturbing them. An office and storage rooms flank the lobby.

“We lease our lesson horses out,” Jennifer says of the horses the facility owns. “I own them, but the riders treat them as theirs. They can come and ride them any time.”

Performance riders take part in 10 shows a year all over the Southeast, she says. “We work the performance horses five days a week, and their owners ride once a week. However, they come in several times a week.” As for her and her husband’s respective roles, she says, “Richie teaches the horses, I teach the riders.”

She and employee Brittany Campbell (no relation to Evie) teach about 120 lessons per week, 40 of them on Saturday, their busiest day.

“Knees tight, don’t move your arms, and walk,” she instructs a rider one recent Saturday. “Heels down, hands up.”

Some riders take lessons in small groups, many in private lessons. The former costs $30 per half hour, the latter $40. Most advertising is by word of mouth.

“His head’s too low. Remember, his ears need to be even with your eyes,” Jennifer tells another student. “Use your left leg to push his body so he’s straight.”

Meanwhile, her husband demonstrates a maneuver for another student. “These horses are athletes,” Richie says.“We bring in farriers from Kentucky who specialize in American Saddlebreds. We also bring in chiropractors. We spend a lot of money to keep them healthy.”

They specialize in show horses, but Saddlebreds are also used as hunter-jumpers and sometimes for the trail, according to Richie. “American Saddlebreds are bred to be high-strung, and they’re supposed to give with everything they have in a short period,” he says. “Most of their competition performances last about 10 minutes.”

Brittany has been a full-time instructor at Heathermoor for two years. She started riding when she was 7, left for a few years, then came back to help Jennifer and Richie. In fact, she gave up a bank job to work at Heathermoor. “My mom, my sister and I all ride,” she says. “We’ve had three horses here for 10 years.”

Boys and girls, men and women take lessons from Brittany and Jennifer, but the females far outnumber the males. “I have ladies in their 60s, and one of the men is 68,” Jennifer says. “He started taking lessons a couple of years ago. You’re never too old to learn to ride.”

Hiking St. Clair

Story by Leigh Pritchett
Submitted photos from Blair Goodgame and Don Smith

Amid the uncertainty of 2020, something positive appears to have occurred: a reawakening to the great outdoors.

The days, weeks, months of being confined and working or schooling remotely fed the desire to roam carefree in the wide open.

The outdoors became a refuge – a convenient and affordable one at that.

“There were so many unknowns about COVID-19 when it was first reported,” explained Don Smith, father of threechildren. “It seemed very contagious and the more populated, urbanized areas were having the highest outbreaks.

“When the lockdown in late March took place, my family and I decided we would focus our time outdoors, getting exercise, creating new memories instead of staying locked in our homes,” continued Smith, who is executive director of St. Clair County Economic Development Council (EDC).

Every weekend that the weather cooperated, Smith, wife April and their family went hiking in and out of St. Clair or kayaking on Big Canoe Creek in Springville and Ashville.

Blair Goodgame, the EDC’s tourism coordinator, can understand why. Enjoying nature and the outdoors helps to relieve stress and gets people out of their homes “to refresh and rejuvenate.”

Natural settings are not difficult to find and are basically free of charge, which is a plus for individuals and families whose income may have decreased during the pandemic.

Settings close to home also became the destination of choice as vacation plans were put on hold during the summer.

People took shorter trips instead and rediscovered what was in their community and county. “We’re seeing a resurgence of that,” Goodgame said.

Smith, in fact, spoke of a camping trip his sons had right in their own neighborhood.

People can enjoy the outdoors simply by strolling through their community or along city blocks, they both agreed.

Valerie Painter, manager of Pell City Civic Center, said foot traffic was up not only in Lakeside Park, which features a mile-long walking trail, but also at the adjoining Pell City Sports Complex.

“My husband walks out there (in the park) every day with our dog, and he has noticed an increase,” Painter said.

She observed, as well, that people were renting pavilions and using the amenities of Lakeside Park later into 2020 than she has seen in previous years.

Right up to the end of 2020, Lakeside Park was being used for exercising, playing, picnicking, gathering, … “everything but swimming,” Painter said.

The park appeared to serve as relief for “cabin fever,” and a solution for social-distancing dilemmas. In October 2020, three weddings, some receptions and a large baptismal service were held at Lakeside Park. November’s tally included a wedding, four birthday parties and a baby shower. One family celebrated Thanksgiving there.

The uptick in visitors going to natural settings apparently has grown common. Goodgame said that each time she went to Double Cove at Logan Martin Dam Park during the fall, she saw a greater number of people than usual.

To Goodgame, this indicates a rediscovery of the outdoors, a new awareness of St. Clair’s assets, and a fresh vision of the possibilities they present.

A case in point is open-air venues, such as St. Clair County Arena. Goodgame said open-air venues have become welcome alternatives for holding craft shows and other events.

“This resurrection of the outdoors started even before COVID,” she noted.

Prior to the pandemic slowdown that began in March 2020, boat traffic on lakes in the county had increased noticeably. People were taking advantage of opportunities close to home, she said.

Those possibilities in St. Clair are growing in number and size. One wilderness area is under development and another wilderness area has been proposed.

When completed in 2022, Canoe Creek Nature Preserve in Springville will boast 28 miles of trails, Goodgame said. The preserve is part of Alabama’s Forever Wild program.

Another Forever Wild preserve has been proposed for the Ragland area. Goodgame said it would offer miles and miles of trails as well.

St. Clair County’s numerous outlets for hiking, kayaking, boating, birding, climbing and camping draw a large number of visitors from outside the county, too. Interestingly, Goodgame said, the visitors are even finding places that have largely been well-kept secrets.

Those secrets – along with the county’s assets, spaciousness and proximity to Birmingham and Atlanta – attracted scores of people to relocate to St. Clair in 2020 despite the pandemic, Goodgame said.

This continues St. Clair County’s growing trend. According to recent population figures compiled by Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, St. Clair gained an estimated 858 residents in 2018-2019. Between 2010 and 2019, the county’s population increased by an estimated 6,162 people.

Take a hike!

Hiking ranks high on Goodgame’s list of favorite outdoor activities. In fact, she spends two weekends a month hiking with her dog.

One of her favorite hiking spots in St. Clair County is Double Cove at Logan Martin Dam Park. Another is Ten Islands Park at Neely Henry Dam.

Goodgame includes Pell City’s Lakeside Park on her suggested list of hiking spots, saying it is ideal for people who prefer a paved path. Goodgame said the wetlands overlook, a project by Logan Martin Lake Protection Association, the botanical display of the Pell City Garden Club’s native plant garden, waterfowl and wildlife along the path make it a good place to walk and observe nature.

Hiking and being outdoors can be particularly beneficial for children, she said, because the youth learn about plants, creatures, geography, geology and the world around them.

The expanse overseen by Coosa Riverkeepers is one area of the county that she recommends for a nature “classroom.” The riverkeepers, she said, strive to document different species and to maintain a pristine environment.

Camp Sumatanga features the Sumatanga Mountain Trail, which is a 2.4-mile, lightly-trafficked out-and-back trail near Gallant, north of Ashville. The trail is rated moderate and features a lake. It is mainly used for hiking and running and is open on weekends. Dogs are allowed on the trail, but they must be kept on a leash. Camp Sumatanga was founded in 1947 as part of a United Methodist camping ministry, according to its website. The original property consisted of 430 acres extending from the crest of Chandler Mountain down into the valley of Greasy Cove. Breathtaking vistas are part of its allure.

Its name means: “… a place low enough for all who have a mind to climb to reach its heights and yet high enough for all to catch a vision of higher heights.”

Any hiking trail can be educational, as children look, for example, for bird holes in trees or count the different species of flowers, Goodgame said.

Hiking is a source of fun, too. “You can plan scavenger hunts with (the children),” she said. Also, using a hiking app lets children keep up with where they are on the trail and to compete in challenges.

Developing a love of and an appreciation for nature “is going to be better for our kids because they will be better guardians of our land later,” Goodgame said. “It gives us something positive to look forward to in the future.”

One of the many benefits of hiking, Goodgame said, is that it gets adults and children away from computer screens, phones, television and other technological devices.

Smith agreed wholeheartedly. “The great thing about hiking is it disconnects the family from electronics and allows for great conversation.”

Time spent discovering new places, hiking and enjoying nature knits family members together and forms memories to cherish always, said Goodgame and Smith.

“Hiking … costs nothing to walk on a trail and enjoy fresh air, wildlife and natural views,” Smith said. “… Overnight camping can require some investment, but it can be done on a reasonable budget and includes a campfire and stories for free. Sleeping under the stars miles from civilization really helps you appreciate all that we have that makes our life easier. It’s good to be reminded of how far we have come and all the incredible things nature offers us.”