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We're proud to help introduce a new generation of adventurers to the diverse experiences that our state has to offer.

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Today on Outdoor Nevada, we visit the Desert National Wildlife Refuge.

Here we meet up with the refuge manager, Amy Sprunger.

Amy gives us a tour along with some history of the area, and from there we head out to explore the refuge.

To help on this exploration is Jim Boone from birdandhike.com.

Jim leads us on a hike to the amazing Hidden Forest and the Hidden Cabin.

It was an exciting adventure, and all this right now on Outdoor Nevada.

♪♪♪ (John Burke) Today I'm at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge.

It's about an hour outside of Las Vegas.

Absolutely stunning out here.

My only problem is I've never really had the chance to take a good close look.

All that changes today.

The Corn Creek area is a little slice of paradise that sits on the edge of the refuge.

This is where most people come to visit.

It has a series of walking trails, and some wind through the open desert while others follow along A small creek lush with vegetation.

Corn Creek is definitely a great place to spend a day, and to learn more about the refuge, I met up with a friend who manages the area.

Her name is Amy.

Amy, I was wondering.

How did you get into this line of work?

(Amy Sprunger) Well, I was very fortunate while I was in school at Ohio State to get essentially an internship-type position with the Fish and Wildlife Service, and I've been able to-- the great part about that was I was going to be able to get a permanent position.

-How long have you been here at the refuge?

-Well, believe it or not, it's about 20-1/2 years.

-20-1/2 years.

-Yes, it's pretty incredible.

It's gone so quickly.

-So this career choice has worked out pretty well for you.

-Yes.

I couldn't be more blessed with everything that's happened in my career of 32 years, and I'm so happy to have spent 20 of them here.

It's a very special place.

-Yes, you nailed it.

As you walk the trails, you'll see little pockets of interest.

There's a lot to see.

Corn Creek is a fun place to explore.

What would you say is the best part of your job?

-The vista.

-Yes.

-Yes.

I mean, what's wrong with this?

This is beautiful.

I love it.

-Does it ever get old?

You've been here 20 years.

Does this ever get old?

-No.

I can stare at the mountains all day.

-I come out here and I feel like I can breathe.

How big is the refuge?

-So it's 1.6 million acres.

-1.6 million acres?

-Yes.

It's the largest refuge in the lower 48 states.

-How many people know that?

That's like nobody knows this.

-Yes.

It's one of those little known facts, especially because we are shoulder to shoulder with the other land agencies here, like the Park Service and the BLM and the Forest Service, so we sort of get lost in the mix.

But we have an entirely different mission here, and we're all about protecting the land for wildlife and their habitat.

Some of the other agencies have a much more broad view of how the land is managed.

-Well, you talked about wildlife.

What's out here?

-So this refuge was established for desert bighorn sheep.

So you can imagine all the mountains, we have six mountain ranges within the refuge boundaries, so they have quite a bit of habitat that they can, you know, traverse.

So that's our main focal point.

We get the question a lot, can you see them here at Corn Creek?

That would be a very rare day.

You know, we do have a handful of mountain lions.

We've got bobcats.

We've got of course here it's super common to see the lizard.

You know, the different lizard species.

Corn Creek itself is an extremely popular birding site because of the greenery and the water that we have here.

So in the migratory bird seasons, which we're in right now and then in the fall, you know, they've already started breeding, but they're still moving north.

And then in the fall, they're moving south.

So this is a really important stopover because of the water and the food source here.

-Tell me about the water because people come out here, and I think they would think well, it's just desert.

It's gorgeous, but it's desert.

Not true.

-Right.

The springs that come out of the ground here are finding their way through fault lines to the surface, and it's called a carbonate aquifer.

And what happens is the water is being-- it's pressurized from down below, and it finds its way up through the fault lines and it rises to the surface here.

So we call it ancient water.

We don't really know how old it is but it's very old water, and it's been doing-- you know, this has been a very important site also for Native Americans, predominantly the Southern Paiute.

-Obviously you can come here, you can learn a lot, you can do some bird watching, you can exhale, you can take in this vista here.

What else is there to do?

-Well, you can definitely go hiking in the back country.

We have one semi-developed campground.

It's just a very small campground in the back country.

It's about a two-hour drive, and you definitely need a high-clearance vehicle with very good tires to get anywhere in the back country on this refuge.

Do not take its beauty for the ability to get around out here, because there are a lot of tow trucks that come and go from the refuge.

-How many people come out here?

-We get anywhere usually 60- to 65,000 people per year, and most of those folks only come to Corn Creek because beyond here, you must have the proper vehicle.

-Well, you're going to be getting 65,001 from here on out because this is my kind of place.

-I look forward to it, John.

-Let's mosey.

♪♪♪ As we walk the trails, Amy continued to tell me about the refuge-- this place is massive!

It has six major mountain ranges and seven distinct life zones.

Each of these life zones is a region characterized by specific plants and animals.

That's what I was excited to see and explore, and my next trek was going to take me through three of the seven life zones.

After a few more pointers about the back country, I made Amy aware of where I was heading, and off I went.

Now, one thing I want to make clear: What I planned from here is not a day trip.

I was driving into the back country, then hiking to the next location.

This was an overnight trip.

Now, Amy did say that she would catch up with me the next day.

Next stop: The Hidden Forest.

I know, it sounds like something out of a fairy tale, and spoiler alert, it is.

But first I had a 16-mile drive ahead of me to the trailhead, and there I would meet up with another friend, Jim Boone from birdandhike.com.

-So Jim, you've been working on stuff with plants I hear.

(Jim Boone) I have been.

I've been looking at the way the rodents are eating on Joshua trees and cactus trying to get a little bit of moisture.

-Is that kind of a new behavior?

-It is.

I don't think anybody's ever noticed it, certainly not to this extent.

-Interesting.

-And so I've been documenting a lot of them, what's going on.

-Tell me a little bit about this hike, because I know you've done this before.

I know Hidden Forest is about six miles, a little less than six miles, that way.

-Yes.

This is an interesting hike.

We start out here in the desert and going to a place called Hidden Forest.

You look around and say Hidden Forest?

I sure don't see one.

You know, we're out here in the middle of the desert.

But yes, as we go up the canyon, the canyon will narrow up and eventually we'll get into some trees and eventually ponderosa pines.

-How far is the elevation from where we are right now?

How high are we going?

-We're going up to almost 8,000 feet.

So we're a little under 6,000 here, so it's a fair climb.

-It's a fair climb, but I guess that creates different environments for us to see.

-It does, right.

So we're starting in the desert down here.

We'll go up, we'll get into the pinyon-juniper forest and eventually get up into the ponderosa pine and white firs.

-Are we really going into Deadman Canyon?

-It is, that's the name of it.

-Are you sure for our sake that we can't make it another way?

We got to go through Deadman Canyon-- -This is it.

-To the Hidden Forest.

This sounds like an adventure.

-It's going to be.

-Let's go.

-Hopefully we'll get to see some fun things.

Maybe we'll see deer or red-tailed hawks, or maybe we'll see a mountain lion.

-Hey, I'm game.

Well, I don't want to say I'm game.

Maybe that's not right.

Into Deadman's Canyon we went-- 5.6 miles or so to the Hidden Forest and Cabin.

Let the adventure begin!

-Do you consider this the desert area of the trail?

-It is.

Yes, we're still in the desert.

We have a lot of desert shrubs here.

We still have some Joshua trees.

If you look ahead in the distance, we can see the forest and pinyon-juniper forest getting started.

-Oh, for sure.

-Yes, we're definitely at the upper edge of a desert at this point.

-What about some of the critters that are running around here?

-Well, we saw a really nice collared lizard just little ways back, and back when we were getting ready to come, I saw a leopard lizard.

So there's always fun lizards to see.

If we get really lucky, we might see a snake, and if we get doubly really lucky, we might get to see a rattlesnake.

But they're so few and far between that you hardly ever see them.

-Well, if you get lucky with a snake, will you let me know?

-Oh, yes, hopefully before you step on it.

-Yes, that would be nice.

♪♪♪ There's so many things to see along this trail.

It's just a matter of paying attention.

Now, the hike starts out with a familiar Southern Nevada landscape and color palette.

It's at about a mile in you start to notice, well, a shift.

The color green begins to present itself, dotting the landscape.

We've been walking for a little while.

We're starting to get into a different elevation so we're seeing different life, right?

-We certainly are.

Look right up and see some of it here.

We're finally up into the pinyon forest.

Actually, we'll start seeing some junipers too.

They refer to this as the pinyon-juniper forest or maybe the pygmy forest, where it's a forest of short trees, and we're finally getting into some shade.

-How old is this tree?

-This tree?

You know, these things grow really slowly.

This tree could easily be 1,000 years old.

-That blows my mind.

Isn't that amazing?

-It is.

You know, maybe it's only 600 years.

Even that, give or take, it's pretty mind-blowing.

-Tell me about your website, because it sure is popular.

-The website is called Bird and Hike, and it's intended for bird watchers and hikers.

It gives people an idea of where to go hiking and birdwatching, and I tend to give quite a lot of detail and GPS coordinates, maps and site information and things because my goal is to connect with people who might be afraid to come out here by themselves.

They stumble on the website and they think maybe they'd like to try this, but it's kind of scary out there.

You know, the coyotes are going to eat their children and stuff.

But they look at the pictures and they see other people on the trail with their kids or with their dogs maybe, and they think well, if those people can do it, maybe I can do it too.

And then they go out and I get this email from them saying you changed my life.

-And how satisfying is that?

-That's amazing.

It makes it all worth it.

As much as I enjoyed the shade, we still had four miles to go.

We got back on the trail and continued our trek towards the Hidden Forest.

I will say this, Jim is the real deal.

He loves what he does.

As we hiked, he would point out details about the trail and the environment.

He would also stop to take pictures for his website.

I mean, this man is a machine.

Well, young whippersnapper, how are we doing on this hike?

-I'd say we're doing pretty well.

We only got 2-1/2 miles to go.

-Well, let's talk about this for a second because this isn't necessarily an easy hike.

I mean, you're going uphill, loose gravel, you kind of got to be prepared, right?

-Yes, it's not easy.

You know, people come up to the gate down at the bottom, and the sign says only four miles.

They get an idea that this is going to be quick but it's really 5.7 or so, and then it's tough the whole way.

You know, it's just this grade.

It seems like it just never lets up.

-And we're lucky because we're here on probably the most beautiful day I've ever seen, right?

-Well, it's certainly a good day.

You know, for this time of year to have a cool day, I'd say we're lucky.

-So if you're coming up this way, just know the grade is up the whole time and the gravel is loose.

Bring plenty of water, and don't be afraid to rest every now and then.

-Yes.

Once you get up in the trees, there's plenty of shade.

You know, the shade of one tree is good enough, and you don't want to pass it up too often.

-How much water do you bring on a hike like this?

-Well, it depends on the season.

You know, if you're coming here in the summer, bring a gallon.

A gallon a day is a good round number.

If you're coming in the winter, you know, maybe you'll need a quart and you can melt a little snow.

-Well, I tell you, I can feel the elevation rise, and my breathing is a little bit different.

That's something to be aware of too.

Take plenty of time to rest.

-Definitely.

You know, the air gets thin up here.

We're up around 6,500 feet now, and the oxygen is what, it's only like half of what it is at sea level, something like that.

-Is that right?

-Don't quote me on that exact number.

But it's a whole lot less, and yes, your body starts to feel it.

-So it's doable, just be prepared.

-Yes, and take it easy and rest and bring plenty of snacks.

Remember, food is fuel.

Don't be on your diet when you're coming up here.

-Now you tell me.

Now, 5.6 miles doesn't seem like a long hike, and in most cases it's not.

This hike, it just doesn't seem to let up.

What keeps things moving along is the change in scenery, the drop in temperature, and knowing with every step, we were closer to the Hidden Cabin.

♪♪♪ I'm not going to joke about this one.

You are an incredible hiker, my friend.

You're not even breathing heavy.

-Well, a little bit.

But I did put this bench in here for us.

-Oh, thank you very much.

How much further we got, you figure?

-Less than a mile, maybe.

-Less than a mile?

-We're getting there.

-Yes.

Tell me about these trees because the visuals have changed.

-We're out of the desert, and we're into the Hidden Forest now.

We have these ponderosa pines and white firs and these other plant species that you'd have no clue, starting down in the desert, that this was up here.

I guess that's why they call it the Hidden Forest because it's hidden from view from down below.

-You know, I have always believed that getting out hiking is great, but if you'll go just a little bit further, you know, you'll find the gifts, and I think this is a classic example.

-Yes, and when we go a little farther from here, we'll get to the cabin.

-Yes, we can do that.

-And that'll be a nice thing to see.

-Well, we've got one last push and we'll pitch our tents and rest a while.

Are you up for it?

-Yes.

-Okay, let's do this.

-This is peaceful.

-Well, we have been through several different landscapes.

Jim, do you have a favorite?

Do you like the desert over the woods, or the woods over the desert or the forest?

What's your favorite?

-Well, you know, I really like the desert but whenever I come up in the woods, it always seems so magical up here and it makes me think that maybe I'd prefer the woods, but then I go back to the desert.

-Oh, my gosh.

-Yes, look at this.

We're finally getting here.

-Hey, pay dirt!

We did it, Jim.

Amazing.

-Isn't that something?

Imagine building this by hand.

I feel like I'm walking into 3D history here.

-Yes, it's really amazing to see this old hand-built cabin.

-You know, there's a lot that we don't know about this cabin.

There's some stuff that we do know.

What do you know about this?

I think it was 1931.

-It was built then.

You know, there's a lot of history that's been lost as to exactly what went on up here and sort of a dark ages period where people just didn't know until they started making up all kinds of stories.

-Well, what's the on-board story right now that we all kind of have agreed to agree on?

-Well, you know, a guy from our local news channel did some research on this, and he figured out that a guy named Russell, Mr. Russell, was a World War I vet that came up here.

It looks like maybe he was seeking solace from his time in the war, maybe suffering a little PTSD, a little bit of a drinking problem.

He came up here to maybe get his head back together in the woods.

-Let me ask you this: Why do you think he chose this spot?

Because it's an extended hike to get here.

-Well, back in the day, they put in a road up here so they could drive in so it was a little bit easier to get here, but the reason for this spot is because there's a spring just up the hill a little bit behind us, about a 10-minute walk, and then he ran a pipe down to here.

-So by the way, if you do come up here and you want to visit this, that spring is still here and available to fill your water jug, right?

-Sure.

People say it's getting about one liter per minute, which is not very much water, but it's certainly a lot more than no water.

-What do you feel when you come up here and you see this?

You're a guy who appreciates history.

What goes through your mind?

-I think about the lives of the people who were here.

You know, what was it that drove Mr. Russell to move to this place?

What was his life like, and what was it like to actually cut down the first tree to make your log cabin?

What was it like to lay the last log in and chink it and then sit back on your front porch and say, I built this.

-Yes, that's a special thought.

Well, I got to tell you, hanging out with you and taking this hike has been such a joy because you know so much about so much that I love learning, so hanging out with you is a pleasure and just thanks for taking the time today.

-Well, you're welcome.

It's a nice trip, and I'm always glad to share what knowledge I have, imperfect as it might be.

-I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted.

What do you say we set up camp?

-I think that's a good idea, have a little dinner.

-Yeah.

-All right.

Too bad we didn't bring any cold beer.

♪♪♪ We set up camp, ate a quick meal and called it a day.

It was morning before I knew it, and the forest was a-flutter with hummingbirds.

There was no hitting the snooze button, so it was time to get up.

After a cup of coffee and some breakfast, Amy arrived.

Amy, I can't thank you enough for making that strenuous hike up here to see me and help fill in the blanks of my knowledge here.

Thank you.

-Oh, of course.

Yes, this will be my last hurrah since I'm going to retire, but it was a great hike this morning.

-I am so lucky to get you before you retire.

Let's talk a little bit about this.

We're still in the refuge.

-Yes.

This is still part of the 1.6 million acres that we talked about at Corn Creek.

-It seems like it's been mildly restored, am I right?

-You're exactly right.

We had some funding about 10 years ago now, a little over 10 years ago, that we were able to come up, and we used historic pictures as well as historic ways of re-honing, you know, the ponderosa pine logs and re-creating, you know, helping construct the base, the foundation again, and fixing the roof which had really become quite dilapidated.

So it was quite an effort.

We had to helicopter the materials in, and then we also used pack animals to bring some more stuff in, and they spent a couple of weeks up here on a full restoration project.

-Tell me about etiquette when you're up here.

What are the do's and don'ts of people that want to come check this out?

-Well, you certainly want to pack in and pack out.

Please don't leave things in the cabin.

You know, people think they're being generous by leaving their little propane tanks and things like that, but please just take them with you.

We are right now in fire restriction mode across all of the agencies here in Southern Nevada, so there are no campfires permitted anywhere.

But there are no campfires permitted here, period, because people unfortunately are desecrating the area.

They're cutting trees down, they're cutting live trees down.

They're cutting branches down and creating fires.

You know, hey, it's great.

Everybody wants to camp with a bonfire, but that's just not appropriate.

We also have as part of the restoration, during the process we discovered a little tiny stove that was just pulled out of the cabin.

So, you know, our historians put it back in, and people frequently still use it as a way to keep warm.

-So the cabin is open.

You can go inside, but what you're saying is leave it alone.

-Exactly.

Please just take your trash with and don't build fires, and know it's very attractive, and it's very warm and inviting and comfortable, but it's very flammable.

You know, it's going to go up in smoke if you're not careful, and everyone loses.

No one wins.

-Let's open that up for just a second.

I love that you brought that up.

What do you think this means to the refuge?

What do you think this means to the state of Nevada to have this here?

-Well, we know that the cabin actually predates the refuge.

So the refuge was established in 1936.

We know that this cabin was here before that time, and there were actually a total of three cabins here at one time, based on the pictures that we've seen.

So it's by far the most popular area in the back country of the refuge for people to come to, but it's a long hike.

It's not that difficult of a hike, but many people come here every year, so it is a very special place.

I mean, you know, this morning, we're seeing birds everywhere.

It's migration time, just like what we talked about at Corn Creek, so they're here as well.

You know, it's beautiful.

We have these super-mature ponderosa pines here.

You know, the pinyon, juniper, white fir, and we've got the spring that people can filter the water.

So it's a very special place to come, and it's getting a little bit over-loved.

But the funny part about this is if you read back in historic annals associated with the refuge, back in the '40s, the '50s, and the '60s, it's constant.

They would say oh, people have found Hidden Forest.

You know, there's so many people coming to Hidden Forest and they're still, you know, decades later, coming to Hidden Forest.

You used to be able to drive up here, which seems almost impossible now.

-Do I sense an emotional connection to this place with you?

-Oh, sure.

I mean, I've probably been up here a half a dozen times throughout my career, and it's always like oh, it's that grind, you know, you've got that trek, but you get here and it's all worth it.

-Well, I can't thank you enough for making it a half a dozen times and not leaving it at five, because I love this place.

I know I've probably said it to you before, but thank you so much for all the work you're doing here.

Anybody that comes up here and looks around sees that your work is paying off, and it's going to pay off for a long time.

So thanks a lot.

-We hope so.

Thank you, John.

♪♪♪ You know what's interesting, when you take a hike like this and it begins in the desert, which I love, but then you start going to these higher elevations and everything changes.

The trees start getting older and it's just glorious, but it's not easy.

It's an extended hike.

It's at least moderately difficult, and you're walking in this gravel that slips and it seems like every three steps you take you only get two, and you can get a little tired.

But there's one thing I've learned: If you will just go one step beyond your comfort zone and if you prepare properly, you will get your gift.

Now, in this case you come to a cabin in the middle of the woods from the 1930s, and it really feels like you've just stepped back in time.

Nothing around here has changed, and it's a beautiful thing.

But beyond that you wake up the next morning, maybe you're a little stiff, maybe you're a little sore, but you have that first cup of coffee and you start to think yeah, I did that.

So whatever your comfort zone is, prepare properly, then go another step and get your gift.

I think that's what Outdoor Nevada is all about.

♪♪♪ Support for Outdoor Nevada comes from Jaguar Land Rover Las Vegas, inspiring the spirit of adventure with confidence in any terrain or condition.

Information at jlrlv.com.