Fun one! I enjoyed the road running, and really enjoyed the off-trail travel around the loop. The park service brochure and pictures were mostly easy to follow (especially the "small juniper tree" which is visible from various places, including one of the Blue Mesa overlooks!).
I spent a couple minutes looking for the clam beds, but didn't refer to the brochure and relied on my memory instead. So I was looking among the lighter colored sandstone blocks instead of the darker ones - which is where they are (per the pictures my husband took as he did a much more leisurely sightseeing trek). I'll just have to return sometime to see them myself.
Loved the hoodoos and sand castles and all the colors around Red Basin. The gpx track was helpful in finding the right spot to drop into the drainage, then it was easy navigating around to the north part of the loop. Petrified wood and more amazing colors! I briefly tried to turn south too early, then quickly figured it out with the track on my phone.
Billings Gap (once I was in the right place) was easy to spot, then it was back to the road to finish things off. I was pleasantly surprised to clock a half-decent time, and happy to have seen so many great things along the way. Thank you Matthew for creating this FKT route!