I rode parts of the trail today (Thursday 12/21) from Hiram to Coots and back.
From Hiram to Dallas the trail has lots of debris such as pine needles, cones and sticks less than 1" diameter. Crews had definitely been out as there were many cut trees on the side and piles of wood chips. It can be ridden and several cyclists were out but I would not do it on a bike with delicate racing tires. The photo below is typical.
I left the trail at Dallas and took local roads, rejoining the trail at the Mt. Olivette tunnel. As reported, there was a "Trail Closed" sign at the Willow Springs Bridge.
The sign was there for good reason. A section of trail is completely blocked just east of McPherson Church Rd as reported by @
Spoonrobot. The section is only about 100 ft long but most will not want to take the trouble to pass. I had to drag the bike over, under and through. The first photo shows that a crew had already started cutting.
Looking west
Part way through
Almost through
Looking back toward the east
There was another sign at McPherson Church Rd but much of the trail from there to Coots Lake was pristine, as if nothing had happened. The crew from Fletcher Tree Service was doing an amazing job.
The photo below is of a small slide on the east side of Brushy Mountain Tunnel which had been cleaned up. The trail pictured in the background is typical of the condition from McPherson Church Rd to Coots Lake. Much of it is immaculate.
This is the Fletcher Tree Service crew, contracted by Paulding Parks & Rec. I stopped and chatted with them and thanked them on behalf of the cycling community. Ray Fletcher said that he hoped to have everything clear by Friday evening, in time for everyone to ride on Saturday. He could not promise but that was his plan.
Fletcher Tree Service is at 404.456.3874. Everyone near Paulding County, GA should let them quote their next tree job.
-Tim-