Entrada del Oro

I was going to go for a hike somewhere on Saturday afternoon. I just didn't know where. I headed east and was thinking about going somewhere off Peralta road, but I kept going when I got there. There's a small housing development out in the middle of the desert a few miles beyond Peralta road. It's called Entrada del Oro. I decided that it might be a good place to park and go wandering off into the desert. The neighborhood has a playground on the northern end, with a parking lot. I parked there and went wandering. Right away I came across a dirt road going my direction. I thought about going back and finding a way to get to the road and drive out there, but I wanted to walk. The desert is more enjoyable that way. Turns out it's state trust land and I need to get a permit anyway.

N San Mateo Castro Road

I need to go explore over there some day.

There's a nice view of the Superstition Mountains along the road.

Once I got away from the neighborhood, it was quiet out there. It was kind of nice to walk through a mostly flat area of the desert. Without mountains or canyon walls close by, my attention was drawn to the plants around me. I took a lot of pictures of saguaros.

A lonely saguaro.

I followed the road because walking on a road is easier and that allowed me to look around as I walked instead of watching where I was going to put my feet. The road branched a few times and the path I followed ended at a small hill, which was very convenient because I wanted to get a view of the landscape from a little higher up.

The Superstition Mountains from the top of the small hill.

A Photosynth panorama from the top of the hill. It's not 360 degrees because about 100 degrees looked exceedingly boring.

The hill I climbed is on the right.

From the top of the hill, I could see a different road heading in the direction of the neighborhood. One of my solitary hiking rules is "When exploring new areas, go back the way you came", but this looked safe. The area is flat (no surprise cliffs to stop my progress) and landmarks were easily visible in all directions (no chance of getting lost). It was a scenic and uneventful hike back.

Click below to see all of the pictures.

2011_01_22