Purgatory Falls Nature Walk

This past weekend I had plans with Jaime to hike either Pack Monadnock or Mt. Monadnock. She mentioned wanting to "climb a mountain" a few times, and I was excited that she wanted to do something a little out of her comfort zone. The retail world has eaten up my weekends and her office job sucks up her weekdays (as well as her soul), so finding a good time to go had been difficult. I took the weekend off for my Spartan Race and foolishly figured I would be fit to hike the day after the race. Jaime was rightfully skeptical and asked "Are you sure you can hike after that? I feel like you'll be dead". Nahhhhhhh, I'll be fine, I responded with a wave of my hand.

She was right, and not that surprised when I texted her the night before asking if we could take a rain check.

The race left me bit more battered than I thought, but my muscles felt okay in the morning and I had just enough energy to be bored with sitting around. I had a slow start to the morning, but every time I sat down I felt like I was suffering from rigor mortis**.  Common knowledge said let the muscles rest, but I felt like some light activity would be good and preventing me from stiffening up. Thankfully, Jaime was flexible and agreed to come a short jaunt into nature at Purgatory Falls near my house. She was not fond of the name "Purgatory" for anything, and not surprisingly the myth of the area isn't much more upbeat. It goes as such:

Cookin' in the Devil's Beanpot

Once upon a time (don't all myths HAVE to start that way?) the Devil visited Purgatory Falls, where he made his home to watch over the people of Mont Vernon. Being the devious devil he was, he disguised himself and invited the elders of the town over for a bean supper. The elders anxiously awaited while he stirred his beans, and the Devil unknowingly conjured up too much heat and got his foot stuck in the rocks. He swore and grew very frustrated, and the elders soon realized who really was and fled. He left behind the "Devil's Beanpot", a giant hole in the middle of the rock, and the "Devil's Footprint", a 7-foot long human shaped footprint. Side note: for some reason I could not stop laughing at that old-timey man hanging out in the beanpot. I don't know, it's a slow day at work.

The Purgatory Brook Trail is one that I been on many times over the course of my life simply because it's about 5 mintues from my house. The trail is about 3 miles end-to-end, but for whatever reason I've never done a round trip. The past few years I've stuck to the Lower Falls because it's a very short walk from the trail head, but as a kid I often went to the Upper Falls where the Devil's Beanpot and Footprint are. The trail follows the Purgatory Brook and is quite easy to navigate. The ease of the trail attracts many families and can be crowded on nice days. A note on the trail though - I noticed a lot of the blazes are very faded and many of the areas are well traveled enough that the path isn't always that obvious. It is hard to get very lost, though, so even someone with no experience would find their way.

We set out towards the Lower Falls, and I made the mistake of telling Jaime there were a lot of black bears in the area. She was convinced we were doomed. Thankfully, the only wildlife we came across was a small garter snake, which is not high on the list of animals I like to see but is low on the list of animals that could rip my face off.

Taking a dive

The Lower Falls are a short walk into the woods (maybe a 1/2 mile at most). We spent most of our time at the top of the falls enjoying the sun. Everyone clap for Jaime -insert clapping here-, as she successfully navigated some precarious rocks to get to the top of the falls. She had herself convinced that every obstacle (however large or small) that was not flat ground would leave her on her ass with a twisted ankle, but she made it through just fine.

From the Lower Falls we continued on towards the Bridge (as seen above on the map). The trail followed the Brook and had a couple rocky crossings over small streams, but nothing too intense.

The Bridge crosses over the Purgatory Brook and provides for a lovely photo opportunity, as seen of my feet. We certainly had enough time to hike to the other end and come back, but I suddenly realized how hungry and tired I was. I think I spent the whole time on the bridge talking about what kinds of food I wanted to eat. The exhaustion from the race finally caught up to me, the ache in my muscles was starting to grow, and I was ready for a XL sandwich.

We did about 2 miles round trip, but it was a pleasant and easy nature walk. I want to go back soon and do the whole trail!



**Disclaimer: I know I was not ACTUALLY suffering from rigor mortis, as I was not dead. I felt the need to include that since Jaime yelled at me when I said I was going rigor mortis.