Just as Nicholas I was following Gorchakov's orders to prepare for a decisive battle on the Crimea Peninsula, Prince Menshikov was supervising the Russian Imperial soldiers constructing defensive positions on a height near the Alma River.
As for why Prince Menshikov was constructing defensive positions near the Alma River, this matter must be traced back more than a week previously.
At that time, Prince Menshikov was leisurely sitting in the command post of the Sevastopol Fortress, waiting for news from the Caucasus Region (Prince Menshikov also served as Governor of the Caucasus). Instead, what he received was a report from the Cossack Cavalry Corps under his command informing him that the Anglo-French Army had already landed near Kalamat Bay.
