The Rocky Crag traversing The Righteous Way is a classic off-trail adventure that entails extreme wilderness, old manways, bear trails, and lots of knife-edge ridge climbing. As originally planned, the hike was to follow up the Porters Creek Trail, the lower half of Dry Sluice manway, Lester Prong, and an exceedingly steep scramble up the side of Rocky Crag. However, a violent rainstorm that washed out the roads in the Greenbrier area last year has blocked access to the Porters Creek Trail. Consequently, the hike will begin from Newfound Gap following the AT 4.5 miles out to the upper terminus of the Dry Sluice manway and then down the manway to Lester Prong. At this juncture, the climb will begin, terminating at the summit of The Rocky Crag (known by some as the Real Charlies Bunion). Along Dry Sluice manway and Lester Prong hikers will have an up-close and personal encounter with the unbelievable destruction from last year’s storm. Total hiking distance is about 13 miles (3.5 miles off-trail) and rated strenuous.

Leaders: Greg Harrell and Ken Wise

To register, contact the leader directly via email, text or phone. You can find contact information in the May 2023 newsletter writeup for this hike.