Well...that was much much harder than we'd anticipated! Amelie and I had high hopes for a quicker time, based on the speed of the men's FKT but we're happy with sub 10 hours.
We started at Raven Lodge, running through the paradise meadows route to summit Albert Edward. This is a well used and busy section of the park so there are many hikers and other runners to be seen, as well as plentiful water refill spots and even 3 options for pit toilet bathroom breaks at campsites.
After Albert Edward we descended off the west ridge and began the harder portion of the day. The west ridge off the summit was easy travel, steep but fairly grippy rock. Not a particularly obvious trail but we knew we'd need to stay on the ridge so navigation was manageable and there were some rock cairns and the odd section of trail. We saw a handful of through-hikers on this section who were completing the route in the opposite direction over three days.
Once we dropped below the tree line on the west ridge, we made a sharp right turn in to a steep gully and then began our climb up towards Ruth Masters lake. There is a lovely waterfall just before Ruth Master that was for a perfect water refill spot. At this time of year (August long weekend) it was the first viable water source we had seen since the front side of Albert Edward. The lake is also incredible, neither of us had anticipated how beautiful it would be so it was a great surprise!
From Ruth Masters we traversed along the north side of the lake, then up a steep and loose slope to the saddle of the bowl above the lake. From the saddle, turning right would take us to the summit of Mount Auger, but we turned left to continue along the traverse. The route follows the top of the bowl above the lake before descending to the right down it's backside - the views looking back towards the lake were excellent! This next descent was more easy travel on grippy rock but the route was not at all obvious. We came off the route, dropping below the ridge line to the right, too quickly. Once we righted ourselves, we continued along a poorly marked route to a small campsite that over looks Buttle lake. There were some clean tarns along the ridge before the small campsite for water refills. It's the last water we saw on the route.
From the small campsite, the descent is incredible steep with sections of loose rock/sand making for some tentative footing after a long day on the quads. After many switch backs, we came to the road and much to our dismay, realized it was not where we had dropped our truck! A note for anyone trying this route, "Jacks Augerpoint Traverse," meets the road approximately 1km before the old trail and the parking lot. (1km to the north of the lot.) So if you're leaving a truck and don't want the extra road jog, park on the shoulder of the road where there is a spray painted arrow on the ground indicating the new trail head.
I imagine water would be a scarcity in the alpine by late august or September, potentially earlier on a very hot/dry year. We got away with carrying 1.5L each and refilling when we could, but that might not be enough if the tarns and creeks dry out. We also used some of the water sources to soak our hats/shirts to cool down - which really helped since it was 30 degrees with relentless sun all day. We were also fortunate to catch a breeze in the alpine, helping to blow away some of the bugs. But even still, the horse flies were an added encouragement to limit our breaks. There is sporadic cell reception on the Raven Lodge - Albert Edward section, but none after including at Buttle lake.
Overall, the route is stunning and difficult.