FKT: Justin Kousky - Four Birds Trail (NJ) - 2020-12-06

Athletes
Route variation
one way
Multi-sport
No
Gender category
Male
Style
Unsupported
Start date
Finish date
Total time
3h 32m 43s
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fun course but easy to get lost on, at least for me.  future travelers should make sure to bring a gps/map and track it carefully, there are lots of false trails, intersections, and even a few other trails that share the same blaze color (white).  also note the middle part of the trail seems to get less foot traffic/maintenance - lots of downed trees and areas where the trail kind of disappears on you or where you have to play multiple choice.

ran unsupported, started with 2L of tailwind, filled up water once on the way back.  there are numerous water sources along the way but i'd try to avoid the lakes or anything downstream of them - i noticed the smell of gasoline near one, likely from the small watercraft that ply those waters.

note on gpx - you can see i got lost quite a bit, future travelers should cut those out and back sections or just use someone else's tracks which are probably cleaner.  i also noticed some areas where the trail seemed to deviate a bit from the tracks, maybe my gps was a bit off, or i was slightly off course, or the trail has evolved.  probably all of the above!  tricky spots to navigate include the left instead of staying on the fire road (maybe 4-5 miles in?) and the area around the first big lake (where i saw a 2nd trail with white blazes and took a long time to realize my mistake).

out: 3:32:43 (split from middle of parking lot, that's where the gpx tracks i had ended, which is a bit beyond the trailhead)

back: 3:57:22

total: 7:30:05