Hiked Miles to See Martha’s Butte

While visiting Petrified Forest National Park, I wanted to get a real hike in (as opposed to the paved paths in other parts of the park) and found this one on AllTrails. Many people had taken it and reviewed it highly, so I decided upon it, sight unseen. When I arrive at the spot indicated by the app, there was only a soft shoulder area to park and no clearly defined… anything… to indicate a trail. But I decided to give it a shot anyway, relying on the app to guide me in the right direction. It was immediately clear that the trail amounted to following the dry wash that winded all the way to the butte. There were petrified logs and even some flowers along the way, and petroglyphs on the rocks surrounding the butte. It was nice to take a hike that let me get right up close to these things, unlike the rest of the part that forces you to keep your distance at all times.