Firefly Trail to "Murmur" Trestle (Athens-Clarke County, Georgia)

I'm joining the meetup a little later today, but in advance of that hike I wanted to get in a little more distance. For quite a while, I've also wanted to check out the "R.E.M. Murmur" railroad trestle in Athens, GA. To accomplish both, I drove a bit further east than where I was hiking with the group and walked a short distance on the Firefly Trail.

The band R.E.M. was founded by students attending the University of Georgia at Athens. Their first studio album included a picture of a tall dilapidated railroad trestle overgrown with kudzu. The bridge became a landmark due to the cult-like following the band had. While I was never a member of the cult, I do like quite a few of the band's songs. Since I live pretty close though, I' had always wanted to see the trestle. After doing some research, it seems that the original, which was built in 1883 to cross Trail Creek, a tributary of the nearby North Oconee River, was actually demolished in 2020, after a lengthy public debate. With all of the support to keep the landmark though, the city sought and received funding to build a replacement in the same design. This new version is now part of the Firefly Trail, a 39-mile "rails to trails" project, which starts just a short distance north of the bridge. The paved and well-groomed multi-purpose path now traverses a large gorge across the trestle. 

After parking my car, I had to do a little route-finding. Although, the grounds of Dudley Park are well maintained, the way the Firefly Trail passes through is a bit confusing. It's actually something of a three dimensional trail here, as the pathways lead by the river and then circle back up and around to cross over the trestle. I first walked below the bridge and then found the path to circle back and walk across it. The view from the type is pretty nice and overall, it seems like a great trail system. I only hiked about 1.5 miles here today, but knowing how nice this is, I will plan to bring my bike back and put in some more serious mileage sometime soon.