Purgatory Chasm Loop

On Sun Sep 5 07:44:16 2004 chrissa from charleston south carolina said:
Our favorite trail in the area dramatic narrow canyon searching for rocks along the way.

On Mon Oct 3 19:51:53 2005 Jeff Tamra Mason from somewhere said:
A real gem of a short hike - we were blown away - only spent an hour max hiking this short loop - most of which is in a small creek canyon. This is very near Lake Roberts.

On Sat Jun 14 08:06:16 2008 Ken from Somewhere said:
Last year I hiked the Purgatory Chasm Loop, however I

hiked up through the chasm instead of down. At a branching point with a sign, I went straight and this lead to a dead

end further up. I recomend exploreing this second major branch regardless of which direction you do the loop; this will only add about 30 minutes to the hike, but

it is worth it.

On Sun Jun 14 17:51:18 2009 Beatrice from Silver City, NM said:
Wow. We loved this short hike. It's great hiking through this slot canyon. I can't believe I hadn't discovered it sooner. Found a huge bullfrog and a smaller frog and horned toad.

On Mon Oct 26 10:59:56 2009 Gary A. from Gila Hot Springs, NM said:
It was a wonderful easy hike. We took the left fork trail in the loop which goes through the canyon. The second half of the loop is a nice mesa area where we saw a family of deer! The ladder is not at the canyon as previously reported but is not problem in climbing in and out of canyon.

On Tue May 7 09:39:17 2013 Marquette from Silver City, NM said:
We hiked this trail May 6, 2013 and loved it. We hiked up the canyon (taking the left fork of the loop trail, going clockwise along the loop) and, like "Ken from Somewhere" already commented, we ended up taking a branch off the main canyon (thinking it was the main trail) and ended up way up the canyon with a dead end trail. The upper canyon was fun to explore though. The whole slot canyon complex there is easy to hike and quite enjoyable. We're definitely going back! We loved it.

Date:	2000-12-28
Time it took us:	2:15.
Usage (people/hour):	0.00. We saw nobody, but I would expect moderate usage in the warmer times.
Cleanliness:	9.

Waypoint	Type	Description
PCB3	Trail point	Purgatory Chasm trail sign indicating the trail is not maintained
PCTH	Trailhead	Purgatory Chasm trailhead
PCY1	Trail junction	Junction of the two directions of the Purgatory Chasm loop

Map name	Cartographer	Year	Scale	Topo map?	Online access	Notes
Gila National Forest	US Forest Service	1997	1:126720	N	From the National Forest Store (purchase)	South half
Gila Wilderness	US Forest Service	1984	1:63360	Y	From the National Forest Store (purchase)	East half
Mogollon Mountains	BLM	1987	1:100000	Y	Public Lands Information Center (purchase)
Wildernesses of New Mexico	US Forest Service	1981	1:1000000	N	No online copies.	Base map with national forests, wilderness areas and highways.

	You start on a flat trail going through a Ponderosa and Juniper forest. There is a sign that says to beware of flash floods. Given the canyon that part of this trail goes through, this is a warning to heed; if it may rain here or up the mountains, you should hike some other trail.
Not far from the trailhead, the trail crosses the stream. It was dry when we hiked it, but I would expect that it may run in the spring. You can see Diana Northup crossing it in the image to the left.
	After about 1/4 mile you get to the wilderness boundary (PCY1) and a fork in the trail. You can take either fork, but I think you will enjoy the trail better if you take the right branch and return on the left. You begin to climb a small hill, and as you climb the water available to the plants must drop---the vegetation changes from Ponderosa to Piñon, Juniper, and cholla. At one point, you see a canyon developing to the right. However, you will be going up on the mesa and not up that canyon. When we hiked this trail, we unfortunately saw evidence of someone who had not used a Leave No Trace ethic for their campground.
At (PCB3) there is a sign that says the trail is not maintained the next 1/4 file. We had no problems following the trail, and it remained in fine shape when we were hiking it. After the sign, the trail descends down the hill. At the base, you can see the chasm that you will be hiking in. The trail parallels the chasm for a short while before descending into the chasm.
	After a short distance, the trail descends down a ladder. There is what looks like a swimming hole and a small waterfall here. Since there was ice elsewhere in the stream, we decided to pass on the swimming for this trip.
As you continue hiking, you come across another sign, this time for the people going the other way on this loop, that indicates that the next 1/4 mile is not maintained. From here, cairns sometimes mark the trail, which wanders up and down the sides of the canyon.
	A little more hiking and the chasm opens up suddenly. When this happens, you are close to the Y where you took the right branch.