The Silver Comet Trail was created as a rails-to-trails project in 1998. It spans from Smyrna, GA, on the western outskirts of Atlanta, to the Alabama border, distance of 61.5 miles. Combined with the Chief Ladiga Trail, which it connects to at the border, it creates a continues 94-mile paved multi-use trail. Since hearing about the trail shortly after my move to Atlanta about 6-years ago, I've wanted to bike the entire distance. For one reason or another though, I've not found the opportunity and with a big hiking trip coming up in the late spring, I thought I would explore a portion of the trail on foot today. I also enjoy walking some of these less remote paved trails as they give me a chance to listen to podcasts or an audio book. On today's playlist, Jack London's 'White Fang'.
The drive to the trailhead I wanted to start at took me about an hour-and-a-half, but it was a nice drive in Sunday morning traffic. Rockmart is a small town west of Atlanta that offers a nice parking area right in the middle of the small downtown district for those enjoying the trail. There is even a small snack shop and restrooms available. The beautiful Euharlee Creek runs right beside the paved trail and offers a gorgeous little area to start my hike, which is actually more of a walk.
As I begin walking, I start my audio book and just start pumping out the miles. The first part of the trail traverses through the outskirts of town and continues to follow the creek, which offers some nice views. The water has carved some shallow canyons through the area and a number of park benches offer a rest bit to those using the trail. The trail is extremely flat and I'm able to maintain a pace of between 3 and 3.5 mph, even while stopping for the occasional picture.
The weather couldn't be better today. Even though we're only a few days from Thanksgiving, afternoon temperatures will be in the low 70's and the big blue sky is clear with only the occasional puffy white cloud. I can imagine this could be a very sweaty endeavor in the heat of the Georgia summer, but today, I will barely work up a sweat.
Making my way out of town, the flat trail and formerly railbed has been cut through the undulating hills of the area, which reminds me of the snow tunnels driving up Mount Rose Highway in the late winter near Lake Tahoe, near which I lived for many years. Here though, the snow is replaced with rock, which has either been mechanically or explosively removed to allow the flat trail to pass through. Numerous bikers zip past me as I continue to walk, and I only encounter a handful of walkers/hikers during that same time span.
Finally getting back into town, I walk a bit west of where I started in order to get a picture of the bridge crossing Euharlee Creek, which has a nice Silver Comet Sign attached to it. Seems like a good photo to have of today's adventure. Total distance covered was 13.9 miles, which on the flat paved surface took me less than 4.5 hours to complete. This is not nearly as adventurous as some of my hikes, but it was still nice to get outside and get some good miles in.
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