Five-letter route
The first answer is ZEBRA. Trace ZEBRA from row 2, column 4: move left to row 2, column 3 for E, left again to row 2, column 2 for B, up to row 1, column 2 for R, then left to row 1, column 1 for A. This route uses the short first row at the end, which is a useful confirmation when you are testing the five-letter clue.
For a cell-by-cell comparison, the sequence is: 1 at row 2, column 4; 2 at row 2, column 3; 3 at row 2, column 2; 4 at row 1, column 2; 5 at row 1, column 1. Its movement is left, left, up, left. Once those five cells are marked, 23 open cells remain for the other routes.