Tuesday Trails

PURTYMUN TRAIL

The Purtymun trail is the southernmost trail of the five trails climbing the east side of Oak Creek Canyon. In order from south to north: Purtymun, Thomas Point, Telephone, Harding Spring, and Cookstove trails. All these trails are about a mile long or a bit more and there is an elevation change of 900 to 1200 feet. In other words, all the trails are steep. The Purtymun Trail is the steepest of them all -- a knowledgeable person claims that it's the steepest trail in the Coconino.

The Purtymun Trail is a historic trail. It was built by the Purtymun family before 1900 to get to and from Flagstaff. The story goes that the family stashed some wagons at top of the rim and that they walked the horses and goods up and down the trail. I find this hard to believe because this trail is steep. It is very, very steep. 

You'll realize quickly when you come to the end of the maintained part. The trail gets very narrow, very overgrown and at times hard to spot. There are blue and yellow ribbons put up by the Forest Service to indicate to the trail maintenance crew where the trail is. You can follow these ribbons, too, if you find it difficult to spot the trail. I only encountered one spot where the trail was ambiguous and seemed to go in two directions. If you have the same problem, take the left branch. The right branch ends after a few feet.

The trail in the unmaintained part is at times extremely steep. Steep enough that you're glad to find a branch to hold on to. The footing though isn't too bad. There aren't any volcanic cinders or rounded rocks, just dirt and sharp edged rocks.

Once you reach the top, the trail seems to peter out. There is a great view point a few hundred feet south of where you crested. Make sure you remember where you came up; the trail is quite faint and you might have a hard time finding it again. Based on the topo maps, I don't think there is a road or established trail connecting the top of the Purtymun trail with the next trail north, the Thomas Point Trail. You could try following the rim, but before you get to Thomas Point, you'd have to swing inland a ways to clear Surveyors Canyon coming up from Oak Creek Canyon.

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