Ward 2 Walkers meet as much for neighborhood socializing as exercise

Call them the Ward 2 Walkers. Each Monday and Thursday, a loose-knit group of Summerlin residents meets at the Hualapai Canyon Trailhead for exercise and conversation.

The trailhead is off Hualapai Way between Alta and Town Center drives, adjacent to the TPC Canyons golf course. The trail opened in summer 2010, and the recreation group started about two years ago. It sees anywhere from two to 15 walkers per outing. Vicki Gilbreath has been a regular since the group was established and walks twice a week.

“It’s beautiful out here. Just look at those mountains,” she said, sweeping her hand to the west. “It’s a gorgeous park full of natural vegetation and full of animals — jackrabbits and little bunnies, coyotes and birds. … It’s a little piece of ‘out in the middle of nowhere,’ plucked down right in the middle of Ward 2.”

The 10-foot-wide, paved trail accommodates joggers, pedestrians, bicyclists and other modes of nonmotorized travel. Amenities include rest areas, benches, trash receptacles, pet waste stations and trail lighting. A narrow parking lot with perhaps 12 slots was added last year, although some people use street parking.

Mike Tomko, a retired firefighter, brought his Jack Russell Terrier, Jackson, a rescue dog. He said he learned about the park from a neighbor and decided to check it out. That was about six months ago, and he’s been a regular to the group ever since.

When it’s hot, “we’re here in the early morning or at dusk, so it’s not so bad,” he said. “Dusk, that’s when the rabbits come out, and Jackson goes crazy. It’s not that he’s chasing, but more ‘stop and stare.’ ”

While some eschew the heat, others are more concerned with the cold. Older senior citizens tend to stop participating in winter, citing the cold, Gilbreath said.

“Which is funny because one’s from upstate New York, and the other’s from Montana,” she added.

Ward 2 Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Beers is a regular participant. His father, Frank, also comes, using his electric scooter to do the loop. The councilman said that about eight years ago, his son’s Scout troop dug up natural plants that were nurtured at the Las Vegas Valley Water District, then transplanted them to various parks. One of them was the Hualapai Canyon Trail.

“So this thing has a truly phenomenal array of desert plants,” Beers said. “It’s a different park each season.”

When some of the cacti appeared to have been vandalized, the city’s parks department checked it out. The “vandals” turned out to be rabbits.

Beers said he’s seen a coyote and a condor-like bird try to swoop up a bunny. He’s still waiting to see a bobcat.

“I know they’re out here; they’ve got to be,” he said. “We’re not far from the Spring Mountains.”

The group was proposed by Trudy Temple, who is on the senior citizen advisory board to the city. It became official in September 2014.

The loop the group walks is just less than a mile. To mark one’s progress, the path is marked with critter tracks each tenth of a mile.

Susan Bear brings her poodle, Buddy. She joined the group about four months ago.

“I had to get moving,” Bear said. “Getting a little bit of exercise is a good thing.”

Speaking of exercise, the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study, published in January, revealed that just a modest increase in physical activity could have significant health benefits. Walking briskly daily for 20 minutes, it showed, could be enough to reduce one’s risk of early death.

The Ward 2 Walkers’ pace may not always qualify as brisk, but they said they were there as much for the socializing as the chance to be out in the open and enjoy nature. Beauty can be found in man-made things, as well.

“In the evening, when the lights of the city start coming on, it’s absolutely stunning,” Tomko said.

For more information about Ward 2, visit tinyurl.com/mwctpeu.

Contact Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 702-387-2949.