The Silver Comet Trail is a former railway that was converted into a multi-use trail with construction beginning in 1998. It runs approximately 61 miles from western Atlanta-metro to the Alabama border, and their continues another 33 miles as the Chief Ladiga Trail. Construction is in progress to further connect the trail to the Atlanta Beltline.
Every since learning about the trail a few months ago, I've had aspirations to bikepack it's distance sometime in the near future. While those plans are still underway, I got the opportunity to hike a short section of the trail with one of the local hiking groups. Though we started the hike at Heritage Park and put in a couple of miles on those trails before connecting with the Silver Comet, I was still able to get a taste of the trail.
The section through the park parallels Nickajack Creek and passes by the ruins of an old mill that once sat alongside the creek and utilized its flowing waters as a power source. There are actually quite a few connecting trails here, but after a short break, we head up the connecting trail towards the Silver Comet. This was posted as an easy hike and thus far it has been, with flat, well-maintained trails.
From this point forward, we will actually be sharing a paved trail with runners and bikers as we make our way to our turn around point at Floyd Road. The bikes tend to fly by us, but everyone is courteous and we make great time on this surface. The more I walk along this trail, the more it makes me want to find a new bike and do the bikepacking trip, I've been sort of planning.
After reaching our turn point, we rest for a quick water stop before heading back the way we came. The group leader does take us on a slightly different path once we reach the park again, which takes us to the graffitti'd support structure of an old bridge and a small set of rapids in the creek.
All in all, it was a good morning hike and a great way to cap off a couple of days of PTO. We managed to put in 8.8 miles total. Most importantly, I was able to see what this trail is all about and I do plan on coming back in the near future to explore it further on two wheels.
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