Does the name "Butcher's Cave" send tingles down your spine? Make the tiny hairs on the back of your neck stand up? Well, if the rumors are true, perhaps it should!
Rumor has it that way back in the 1920's someone (probably a miner) stumbled upon the very remote Butcher's Cave and found more than 50 bighorn sheep skulls within the cave. The cave was thought to have been used for butchering bighorn sheep by Native Americans. This find was brought to the attention of the Park Service at some point in time (likely after 1936 when the area was designated a National Monument). Legend has it that Park Service employees removed all but one badly eroded bighorn sheep horn, which they overlooked. Perhaps the Park Service was worried about the potential for vandalism. Or perhaps Butcher's Cave has spiritual significance for Native Americans, and the Park Service didn't want to attract people to the site with all those bighorn sheep skulls. The reasons behind removing all the skulls (if it's even true to begin with) will likely never be known.
Rumors about Butcher's Cave get even crazier, with accusations that it was used as some kind of sacrificial site. Personally, I think all (or at least most) of these rumors are hogwash, and just add to the large number of desert mysteries, myths, legends and secrets. With this backstory in mind, Mitch and I set off to see if we could find the mysterious Butcher's Cave.
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| Bottle opener rock?? |
Butcher's Cave is difficult to get to, and because of the maze of washes, difficult to find. But the cave itself is not just legend... It really does exist! During the hike in, I took very few photos so I could concentrate on navigation.
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| Pinion pine exploiting a crack in the boulder. |
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| Lichen in a variety of colors! |
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| Outside, looking in. It's a relatively wide, shallow cave. |
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| Inside, looking out. |
I recommend watching the video to the end, where I demonstrate my outstanding coordination (sound up, please)! At the end, there is an alcove within an alcove that appears to have not one but two very old disintegrated horns. If you didn't know what you were looking at, you would likely assume they were old eroded branches or tree roots. If the myth is true, imagine how scary and strange it would have been to find 50-plus bighorn sheep skulls stacked in a pile at the end of this cave!😨
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| A better view of one of the old horns. Likely many, many years old. |
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| Looking out of the cave at Mitch taking a picture of me. |
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| On the hike back, we stop for a rest. It turned out to be a very warm day, and we're both tired! |
When we finally make it back to the car, we find a shady spot to sit, relax, and re-hydrate. As we're getting ready to leave, we notice a big full moon is on the rise. What luck! We spend another hour photographing the sunset, golden light, and moonrise.
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| Joshua trees in golden afternoon light. |
The next morning I'm up before sunrise, and the sky is going crazy!
Butcher's Cave has been on my list for a very long time, and it's nice to finally see it. The myths and legends surrounding it only make it that much more interesting!
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!!