"The Window"

Fellow Adventrapaneurs,Good morning-"The Window" our destination, is a small natural arch in a blade of rockperched a vertical mile above Tuscon. When the sunlight strikes it at theproper angle, this natural hole in the wall is clearly visible from partsofTuscon.Esperro trail - 19 miles roundtrip-5140' elevation gain -trip rating 9.9I had been to the Window once before on a the Ventana Canyon route withJake,Andrew and Lorenzo last January. I have always wanted to do the challengingEsperro trail. My good friend and hiking Buddy John Hofdahl wanted achallenging hike so that created a great match and opportunity.We started on the trail at 8:00 A.M. with little visiibility. Threateningcloudcover and mist covered the Santa Catalina Range. The first part of thehike is in primo Sonoran desert. A forrest of impressive Saguaros alongwithprickly pair, mesquite trees, brittlebrush, ocotillo, and paloverde. Thenextpart follows Esperro creek with sycamores and some comparatively large oaksgrowing among the jumble of canyon boulders. Water was everywhere!Beautifulstreams coming down from the cliffs. We reached bridalveil falls at 11:00A.M. The thirty foot falls were gushing with a soothing beauty. There weresome impressive specimens of Arizona cypress across the creek.This would bean excellent place to camp if backpacking.Here we began climbing very steeply up through a thickening forrest coverofPonderosa pines and overarching White Oaks. At a saddle the view wasawesome.The clouds had cleared and we had a feast of the eyes.Your view is the rugged headwaters of Montrose Canyon and it stretches tothe pyramid of Rincon peak in the Rincon mountains. From this saddle thetrail really gets steep and we arrived at "the Window" at 1:00 P.M. The trails were very feint and confusing here. The top was covered by cloudsandmist and visibility again was only a few feet in front of you. We lost thetrail many times but were able to get back on track. Our time window forlight was in jeapordy and we did not want to be descending in the dark.The hike out ended up extremely enjoyable and scenic.Once back on track thegoing was smooth. We arrived back at the Sabino Canyon visitor center at5:00P.M. in plenty of light. The Steinlagers and Sierra Nevadas that Johnbroughtreally were a treat.That evening we celebrated at the Legendary "El Minuto" restaraunt inTempe.This hike is rated a 9.9. You travel through three distinct ecosystems.Thanks to John for driving and his excellent companionship.