Purgatory Chasm - January 14, 2018

On Devil's Pulpit at the Chasm

I was hoping to paddle today, but with the temp’s dropping, there didn’t seem to be a trip. Instead, I did a hike with Conrad, Bill and the Papa Joe hiking crew at the Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton.

I came showshoeing here five years ago (almost to the day – January 15, 2011) with the RICKA crew, and have come a couple of times since with Michelle (mostly to stop at West End Creamery). The Chasm was formed 14,000 years ago when a mile-high glacier let loose a gush of dammed-up water carving out the 70-foot-deep gorge.

We started with a loop around the Chasm on the Charlie Loop Trail.  From there we bushwacked through the woods down to Purgatory Brook, and saw a couple of pretty waterfalls before heading up the Forest Road Trail and Old Purgatory Trail into the Sutton State Forest. We finished up with lunch at Stephanie’s in Grafton. 

Waterfalls on Purgatory Brook from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:

My Pictures

My Video

Trail Map

Snowshoeing at Purgatory Chasm - January 15th

With all the snow we received last week, conditions were perfect yesterday for the RICKA snowshoe trip at Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton, MA.  

Temp's were in the 20's, but it didn't seem that cold.  Most of the trails were unbroken with 18" to 20" of nice light powder.  The Chasm itself was closed, but there were plenty of other trails to keep us occupied. 

We started on the east side of the Chasm Loop Trail.  This trail meanders through some pretty hemlock groves before meeting the Forest Road Trail below the Chasm.  From there, we hiked up Little Purgatory to the waterfall and back.  We stopped  on the Forest Road Trail for lunch, and headed back to the cars on the Old Purgatory Trail.

 The trip took us a couple of hours, and was only a couple of miles long, but it was still a good time.

Links:
Purgatory Chasm State Reservation
Purgatory Chasm Trail Map