Rootstock Racing

The Crooked Compass Adventure Trek

“Always in the big woods when you leave familiar ground and step off alone into a new place there will be, along with the feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is the ancient fear of the unknown, and it is your first bond with the wilderness you are going into. What you are doing is exploring.”
~Wendell Berry, The Unknown Wilderness: Kentucky’s Red River Gorge

About

​ The Crooked Compass Adventure Trek is part-adventure racing, part-rogaining, and part-walk in the woods! Solos and teams of 2-4 will travel by foot, using pre-plotted, water-resistant AR-style, USGS maps as they locate as many checkpoints as possible within the time allotted. For those new to adventure racing, this is a great introductory event that will challenge and give you a taste of the sport while still being accessible and fun. The Crooked Compass is also the perfect training ground for bigger events, whether you're taking on a 24-hour adventure race, the seven-day Endless Mountains Adventure Race in June, or the two-day Stockville in the fall.

Leave No Trace Ethos

We work hard to collaborate with local land managers and owners to respect and preserve our amazing outdoor resources. We abide by  Leave No Trace's 7 Principles  and also follow USARA's LNT guidelines in our course design and permitting. We ask all of you who join us on this amazing journey to review LNT's guiding principles and review USARA's statement concerning the Leave No Trace ethos. Thank you for working with us as we strive for responsible use and stewardship of the outdoors!

2023 DETAILS

DATE: May 17, 2025 (permit pending)
DURATION: 8 hours
LOCATION: Pinchot State Forest
DIVISIONS: Solos and single- and mixed-gender teams of 2-4 racers
PRICE: $90 until February 28, $125 thereafter. Registration closes April 17.
​DISTANCES: TBA

SCHEDULE*

SATURDAY:
6:00AM - Registration and map distribution
8:00AM - Race starts
4:00PM - Finish line closes

​*Schedule is preliminary and subject to change

RACE MAPS

At the Crooked Compass, each participant receives their own set of maps (unless a team notifies us that they don't want multiple sets ahead of time). Maps are printed on water-resistant paper and they may be printed on 8.5x11 or 11x17 paper pending on the course design. Maps are preplotted and also tend to include the checkpoint clues. While we strive to use standard 1:24000 scale, we sometimes print at 1:30,000 if it allows us to print the entire course on one sheet. 

Please follow the mandatory gear list closely. We may conduct spot gear checks on the course, and racers who do not have mandatory gear will be penalized for each gear infraction

Coming soon...

“Always in the big woods when you leave familiar ground and step off alone into a new place there will be, along with the feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is the ancient fear of the unknown, and it is your first bond with the wilderness you are going into. What you are doing is exploring.”
~Wendell Berry, The Unknown Wilderness: Kentucky’s Red River Gorge