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, a multi-day foot event, or the five-day Endless Mountains Adventure Race in June.

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!

2026 Details

DATE: April 18, 2026 
DURATION: 8 hours (most likely, possibly 10)
LOCATION: Moon Lake State Recreation area, 30 minutes west of Wilkes Barre, PA
DIVISIONS: Solos and single- and mixed-gender teams of 2-4 racers
PRICE: Early Fee: $95/racer (Registration opening soon) + $8 USARA single event license fee. The Crooked Compass does not count toward USARA rankings, but it is a USARA-sanctioned event, following USARA event standards. USARA sanctioning also affords us (and you) high quality insurance through USARA. USARA members do not have to pay the $8 fee. Whether you are an adventure racer or not, look into USARA membership. With it, you gain access to an annual ExpertVoice membership which opens the door to hundreds of high-quality pro-deals. Outdoor gear, nutritional supplements, and much, much more are available through ExpertVoice. USARA members who explore ExpertVoice find that they tend to recoup their USARA membership in their first purchase. Join USARA here!
​DISTANCES: TBD, but typically teams completing the FULL course can expect to cover 25 miles +/-.

Registration

Early Registration: Through January 1, 2026 - $95 + $8 USARA single event license unless you are a USARA annual member (see notes above)
Regular Registration: Through March 1, 2026 - $110 + $8 USARA single event license (race swag not guaranteed after March 1)
Late Registration: Through April 6, 2026 - $125 + $8 USARA single event license
Pricing Includes:
  • Unique, personally-designed, scouted, and set course
  • 8-10 hours of challenging navigation in Pennsylvania's beautiful state forest system
  • Water resistant maps; 1 set per racer
  • Quality race swag (examples: beer stein, t-shirts, mugs, buffs, etc.)
  • High quality insurance coverage, including extra individual medical coverage
  • Post race feed
  • Credit-prizes toward future Rootstock events (divisional winners)

Lodging and Amenities

Your best bet will be in and around Wilkes Barre, PA, roughly 30 minutes from the start at Moon Lake State Recreation Area. You may also find local AirBnB-type lodging in Wilkes Barre or between Wilkes Barre and Moon Lake. Additionally, you can reserve a campsite at Moon Lake if you are looking to camp, though seasonal openings may impact reservations. If arriving from the west, Bloomsburg offers a variety of lodging options and is approximately one hour away from Moon Lake.

Wilkes Barre also offers plenty of amenities last minute shopping sprees. There, you'll find various bike shops, outdoor stores, restaurants, and large stores like Walmart.

Nanticoke is a bit closer (20 minutes) and offers a Weis grocery store and some local eateries. 

Schedule*

SATURDAY:
6:00AM - Registration and map distribution
8:00AM - Race starts
4:00PM - Finish line closes (assuming an 8-hour duration)

​*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. 

Gear List

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

Past Results

Check out our results archive for past Crooked Compass results and champions!

“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