Bumping the thread - went up this way yesterday. It is intact and IMO comparably maintained relative to the main trail.
It is 0.65 miles from the "start" to the junction of the main trail, vs. about 0.95 from the actual start to the same point.
So you save 0.3 miles x2, and another benefit is if you are starting super early, parking is empty around the Old Trail start whereas it has already started to fill up around the actual start. I was able to park right next to the start.
