See my log on the origin of the map - in case you don't know. I am one of the culprits...
ha! local knowledge of the secret deviations from reality.
Yes! It must have helped me from 11 to 12 (Red), never even considered going W around - had run out of steam during the mapping blitz, and neglected that W side of the pond. However the route choice today was not a conscious decision.
I stayed on the E side doing the red course, and that was okay. On the Orange, I basically took a straight line on the same leg from 7 to 8 and made it across a beaver dam. Saved almost 40 sec.