Petroglyphs and the Birthing Cave

Trail Overview

This short leg is a lovely out and back to take some time away from the trail and explore on foot a little. There are two paths. The right one takes you over to a short scramble up the rocks to the Birthing Cave, also known as the Naming Cave. This section turns into some very deep soft sand with moderately sized rocks and shelf's near the end. There is a short turnaround loop here. The second trail to the left also has soft sand and larger rocks. The petroglyphs up the hillside from here would require some rock scaling and scrambling to access. A local mentioned that some people bring an expandable ladder to get to the cave with the art. The climb is somewhat treacherous; explore at your own risk. The area is high desert with Pinion Pine, Mesquite, and Juniper. Some red rock hills and sandy areas. There are views of the Mormon Mountains and Utah Hill areas south of Motoqua and Shivwits. By climbing up to the top of the rocks, you get incredible panoramas of the southwest desert and mountain ranges 1 bar LTE service fades in and out.

Difficulty

Intermediate

Technical Rating