NOTICE: When I first walked this trail it was open to the public. This trail is now owned and maintained by the Sun City MacDonald Ranch Home Owner's Association and is only open to residents and their guests. It is now used only by the community residents. Unauthorized users of the trail can be fined. It is closed to the general public. For additional information visit: https://scmronline.com/
You can find more info at: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/city-view-trail--354
City View Trail was my first nature walk in the Las Vegas Valley, and it nearly killed me, literally. Quiet simply, I was a sixty-eight-year-old survivor of a quadruple heart bypass, and a 35-year over-the-road trucking career with the gut to prove it. I was 10 years into my retirement but only 45 pounds lighter than my top weight as a driver. I was not physically ready for the climb to the top.
This trail is just over a mile in length with more than a 300-foot climb to the top. The third photo on this post is of a park bench that was halfway up the trail. I was literally gasping for air when I reached this bench. At this point, I was already debating whether to turn back, but I guess my military training kicked in. Either that or my Okie blood started boiling. Anyway, I sat there until a young couple passed by me with smiles and giggles. I'm still not sure if the giggles were about me or not, but they kept walking and I soon followed them, slowly.
A view from the top.
*****
It probably took me forty-five minutes to hike to the top. I know that it was just over a mile, and I was mad that there was no bench to lie down on when I got there. But, the views were magnificent. When my website is back up and running I will post more photos, and I will edit them before posting.
Meanwhile, I had to figure out how to get down. Should I go back the same way I came up, or should I take the much less used trail on the back side of the hill? I guess my pride in making it up pushed me into taking the back trail back down. But, I did stop observing the splendid views long enough to say a prayer before heading downward.
I quickly understood why the backtrail was not as used as the trail I climbed up on. The rocks were mostly small boulders with a few spots where I had to step down while making another quick prayer. And, I did land flat on my backside at one point. While sitting there rubbing my backside I said another quick prayer and listened for the possible rattle of a snake in the rocks. But, there was no sound but that of me gasping for air.
I made it back to my car and sat there for twenty minutes before leaving. As of today, I have never been back to City View Trail, but I have made five failed trips to the Las Vegas Valley since February of 2021 in search of a place to live. But, I still hope to go back to finish the project that this adventure started me on. I have photographed over 100 parks, preserves, trails, memorials, monuments, and museums in the Las Vegas Valley. That is about half of them, and I want to photograph the rest of them. It may be some time before I get back there, and I am not positive that I will ever live there again but I am going back. Meanwhile, I plan to keep the apartment I now have and van life in Oklahoma and the surrounding states to photograph and write blog articles about my travels.
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