INTRODUCTION
In April of 2026, wanting to take advantage of the last bit of pleasant weather in Tucson before the Summer heat arrived, a friend and I set out for an ambitious (to put it mildly) hike up Ventana Canyon. The hike started out at the base of the Santa Catalina mountains that border Tucson on the north, and ascended about 4500 feet over about 14 miles. Our goal at the top of the mountain was “the window”, a hole in a rocky face leading to a cliffside ledge, yielding incredible views.
Neither of us were in the best shape of our lives, but we figured we might as well take full advantage of a rare opportunity for such an adventure—finding time when we’re both available usually takes months. In retrospect, we bit off a little more than we could chew… A good fifty percent of the “trail” was really more of a loosely formed route over steep narrow passages covered in rocks, requiring constant vigilance of foot placement. Our pace was slow, and breaks were frequent. Despite this, we made it up and back (in about 12 hours), and now that time has polished the memories a bit, it was a truly wonderful experience. This is that story, in photos. (What is a photographic narrative?)
A STORY IN PHOTOGRAPHS
