Saturday, September 26, 1987

1987 Purgatory Chasm (9/26/1987)

Saturday, September 26, 1987
After lunch we drove up RI/MA-146 to Sutton, MA. Just off the highway was the Purgatory Chasm State Reservation where the speed limit suddenly became 15 mph. We passed a picnic area, and the next parking lot was for the chasm, a rocky fissure that we hiked through for a half-mile, climbing over tumbled rocks.
Purgatory Chasm
The average width was 40’ and the depth ranged from 48-70’. The rocks were piled haphazardly in such a way to create “caves” in which dozens of boys of all ages were climbing, many with flashlights. We hiked through the chasm, and a bit beyond, seeing lots of mushrooms and pieces of pomegranate!
Puffball mushroom
Stream
We returned to the chasm to let the boys climb under the rocks.
Erich
Next we climbed to walk along the upper edge and saw Fat Man’s Misery, a crack in the rock.
Looking down
Fat Man's Misery
More fungi
We let the boys do some more exploring, then headed home.

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