There was no women's time on this, and I needed a long run today. This is only about 45 minutes from my house, so it worked out pretty well for me. I tried to keep a mental record of all the turns and confusing bits for this report, since there's not a ton of information available.
I parked my car at a pullout across from the Four Corners Cemetery, as Erik did on his effort. There are a few places that you could park to get started that might be safer than this. You can see the fence and a double-wide trail in the woods alongside the road. I decided to run on the trail here, but you could really do either the trail or the road. The road is probably faster.
At the end of the road, there's a sign warning people about the Class VI road ahead. The terrain here is rolling and relatively non-technical. There's water everywhere; multiple bridges cross reliable-looking creeks, and since it is early spring, the trail itself is also very wet. I ran into two women who were walking 7 or so large-breed dogs. They were very friendly, and I found myself surrounded by wiggly cuteness as I tried to pass. None of them chased me as I ran off, and they were the only people I saw all day.
About mile 4.2, I ran into the parking area that the dog walkers must have used. This is a large dirt parking lot specifically for trail users located at the end of Walker Road. This is an excellent option for parking to start the route. This is also where the first long climb starts. Class VI roads are not maintained and often are the path of least resistance for water to go, so this climb was actually super obnoxious. It's not prohibitively steep, but you'll have to navigate wet and muddy trails also covered in small loose rocks. I would step on some ground that I thought was solid and end up sinking into the mud up to my ankles. It made it very slow going. In retrospect, mud season probably wasn't the best time to do this. Summer or maybe even winter would be better. Snowmobiles definitely use this route. I wonder if it gets groomed?
Towards the top of this climb, you'll see a small clearing with what looks like a hunting cabin. Shortly after, there's a four-way intersection. Take a left here to continue climbing. Plenty of water up here, too. You'll run past a pretty bog surrounded by spruce trees, where there's a sign that designates the area for handicapped parking.
Soon you'll start heading back downhill. The trail meets a gravel road, but there are signs directing snowmobile traffic up towards the fence to the left. Definitely want to run on the trail here, as it does not stay parallel to the road for long. At one point, you will run down a steep hill, across another bridge, then back up hill to where the trail crosses a dirt road. Go straight across the road and uphill to an area that has recently been logged. The trail splits, and you could go either direction here. I chose to bear right, and soon the trails met back up. Eventually, you get dumped out onto a dirt road, which was honestly a welcome sight after the slow going through the mud. You'll follow this road until you cross a dam on a bridge, take a right at the stop sign, and continue towards Cornish Flat on the pavement. The turn onto East Road marks the halfway point.
East Road is a dirt road that climbs sharply, then turns to rolling terrain. There is a farm up here where there is yet another reliable water source that would be very easy to fill from. Just be sure to filter, as it's directly downhill from a cow pasture. Continue straight when you hit a four-way intersection, then take a left when the road ends at a T intersection. From here, you'll be on pavement for a little while. Then the road turns downhill and to the right, while a dirt road veers off and upwards to the left. Take this dirt road. This is the start of the second long climb. Thankfully, most of it is quite runnable. About halfway up the climb, you'll see signs for a recreational parking area. This could also be a good place to park to start the route. After this point, the road becomes a Class VI road again, and gradually goes back to the muddy/wet/rocky/soft characteristic of the first long climb. There is an intersection where you can go either straight or right. Stay straight here. I ran out of water around this area and filled up a couple of minutes later at a stream crossed by a bridge.
Towards the top of this climb, you'll meet another four-way intersection. Take a left here to stay close to the fence. I started getting pretty sick of the terrain right around here, and was grateful to at least be going downhill instead of climbing. I was in my head about some random pain in one of my toes when I tripped on a rock and took my hardest fall of the year. Ended up with some scrapes on my knees and a cut on my leg. I was grateful to be wearing a long-sleeve shirt, or else my left arm might be a lil bloody too.
Eventually, the trail hits a dirt road, but turns left to go back into the woods on more class VI road. You'll run through a grassy open area past someone's house. I fell again here, but not as hard as the first one. It just made me more sick of the terrain. You'll be on this for another mile or so, then turn left onto a dirt road for about a half mile before jumping back into the woods. This part of the trail is marginally better than what you've been running on so far, and in about another mile, you'll turn left onto a paved road. You'll have the option to jump back onto the Class VI road that runs parallel to this road, and I chose not to. I was pretty tired of falling in puddles, and I knew this road would lead me to my car.
You'll be on pavement for about another mile, then continue straight onto a dirt road as the paved road bears right. Up a small hill, and then meet up with the pullout where I parked my car. Overall, it was a good day! I got to explore a new area and establish this FKT. I think someone with a little more leg speed, coming out to do this in different conditions, would have a much easier time of it.