A recommendation on the "new trail/old trail" - don't attempt to find the old trail in the dark on your first trip. By "old trail" I mean the first mile near the Portal as in reality there are other sections of "old trail" between the Portal and the summit. While it's right behind the very large rock at the "top" of the paved road (immediately above the fishing pond) it's still a little tricky to find. Or at least that's my experience, and I've done it at least a dozen times.
It's questionable whether it saves that much time, either. Maybe 5 minutes? 10?
Keep your eye on the ball. What's your goal, anyway? Make the summit? Or make the summit while saving 30 minutes (maybe?)?
My advice is- look for shortcuts after you've been on the MT maybe 25 or so times. Fine tune things then. Don't get sucked into all the "secret" paths or it will distract you from your goal.
