On today's Outdoor Nevada, I explore the Great Basin National Park.

While I'm in the area, I meet up with Liz and learn more about the town of Baker, just outside of the park.

Then I step into waders with Buck from the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

He and I net a couple hundred trout and released them into a local pond.

This was an amazing adventure.

I hope you're ready.

♪♪♪ I'm Connor Fields, your new host for my favorite show, Outdoor Nevada.

♪♪♪ First up, I head over to the Spring Creek Rearing Station located on the outskirts of the park and meet up with Buck, the Hatchery Manager.

A bunch of wild turkeys showed up too.

So, Buck, tell me about where we are.

(Buck Douglas) We're up here at the Spring Creek Rearing Station, and it's in Snake Creek Canyon on the Snake Range in Snake Valley, which is kind of interesting.

And it's fed by a freshwater spring that comes out of a limestone crack.

And the reason they built this here is it's just an ideal situation.

The spring is 57 degrees year round, which is ideal for a trout.

And spring water is crystal clear, and so it's not under the influence of like the creek water over here at Snake Creek.

Sometimes it gets too cold in the winter.

It gets too warm in the summer.

It can be the surface water, it could have-- -So you said it's a rearing station.

So do you hatch the fish here?

-No.

I get the fish from a hatchery.

It's Gallagher Hatchery, which is up in the Ruby marshes, and it's also operated by the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

And we go up there, and we get-- bring the fish down here when they're small fries, like 200 to a pound, and then I rear them up.

And it takes about-- they'll grow about an inch a month.

And so after about nine months, they'll be like 9 inches long.

And then they're ready to stock out lakes, streams, and reservoirs throughout the state.

And it's for the anglers.

It's part of our Fish Restoration Program that the department does.

And it's all supported by the sales of fishing licenses.

None of this is tax dollars.

And so if you go out and buy a fishing license, that money is going in to raise-- its paying to raise these fish.

-How many fish do you think you have here right now?

-Oh, right now I've got 95,000 of these for next spring.

-95,000?

-Yep, in these raceways.

And right now they're about 4 or 5 inches long.

And they'll be, by next spring, like I say, they'll be, you know, 9 inches long ready to plant out.

And we'll start planting in the end of February.

When we start planting, it's kind of interesting because the waters up here in the North will be still iced over.

And we haul these clear down to Las Vegas in the urban ponds.

We start out, we do Boulder City and Mesquite and the urban ponds in Vegas.

-And all those fish come from right here?

-Yes.

-Wow!

-And then by mid-March, those waters down there in the southern region will be too warm to support a trout.

And so by mid-March we've got all the stocking done down there in the southern region, but the waters a little further north, like in Lincoln County and Nye County, the ice is off then.

-Yep.

-And so then we start working north.

And as ice retreats, we start stocking those waters.

-It makes sense.

-And then by the end of June, we've got all the water stocked, because by July, the water temperatures are just too warm the stock.

And so that's why we stock in the spring, and then we wait till into September, October when water temperatures are cool enough.

And the fall stockings have a real narrow window there because they've got to wait till the water temperature is cool enough, but then by November, they're iced over.

-Yeah.

A short little window.

-Yeah.

I've got to get a lot of fish off the station.

And so, yeah, it's a real short window.

So it's, it's quite busy at that time.

-Cool.

Is there anything I can do to help you today?

-Well, it's feeding time for the fish.

I'd love for you to give me a hand.

-All right.

Let's go feed some fish.

-Let's do it.

-The Rearing Station serves as a vital facility for the conservation and management of native fish species in the region.

Operated by the Nevada Department of Wildlife, this facility plays a crucial role in the propagation and stocking of fish populations in Nevada's lakes, rivers, and streams.

The station focuses primarily on rearing of a variety of trout species.

-You see how excited they get?

-Yeah, they love it.

-You'd think they're going through a giant caddisfly or something?

-These long strips of water are called raceways.

In each raceway are different age groups of fish.

The younger, smaller trout are fed three times a day.

The bigger trout are fed twice a day.

Buck and I made our way along the raceway, feeding each group.

So, Buck, what kind of fish are these?

-These are rainbow trout.

-Rainbow trout, okay.

-And they're also a triploid.

They're a sterile rainbow trout.

And the reason we raise as triploid sterile rainbow is so when we release them into the wild, they won't hybridize with the native cutthroat.

And there we go.

They're cleaning it up.

-Breakfast time.

Can you take me to the spring where this water comes from?

-Oh, it's a sacred site.

You'll really enjoy it.

-Let's do it.

What's great about Buck is his understanding of the process and the balance of rearing these trout.

I also love the fact that the water these trout are raised in is from a natural spring.

-We're here at the Spring Creek spring.

This is what feeds the facility down there.

It's where we get our fresh water.

-And where does the water come from?

-It comes out of a limestone fracture right here.

Spring water, crystal clear.

It's a 57-degree temperature year round.

-So even if it's 100 degrees outside or if it's 20 degrees outside and snowing, the water is always 57?

-Yes.

And that's just the ideal temperature for raising trout.

-That's pretty cool.

And is this a normal amount of water that you'd expect to see here?

-Historically, yes.

It always used to run about 2 cubic feet per second.

But with this drought we've had due to climate change the last six years or so, it wasn't getting recharged to feed the spring.

And so the spring had dropped down to less than one CFS, which is quite troubling for us.

-Less than half of what we have here.

-Less than half.

Then this year, we had an exceptional snowpack.

And when it started to melt, just like boom.

-I bet you loved that.

-Man, the spring came back to its full flow.

And what a great surprise.

-Oh, absolutely.

-And it's kind of interesting.

When that spring came back to over 2 CFS again, it had a gray color to it like the color of limestone.

-So it was washing off the limestone?

-It flushed something out when that surge of water came through there.

And when it got down there to the raceways and that, all the raceways was kind of a gray water, the turbidity in there, but it wasn't settling out in there.

It was just flowing right through.

The fish didn't seem to mind it.

And it did that for about two weeks.

-Cool.

-It was just kind of a gray water, and then it cleared right up.

But it's been flowing steady ever since.

-And how did you guys find this, or how long has this been here?

-Well, it's been here... Who knows?

But it's a sacred site to the Shoshone Indians.

-Oh, cool.

-Yeah.

It's actually-- I had the honor of coming up here when they came up to-- they actually blessed the site back when, when the Southern Water Authority wanted to take all the water from up here.

And they wanted to protect this, so they came up and they held a ceremony right here.

And they blessed the spring because they-- -Was that before the melt?

-This was several years ago.

-Okay.

-Yes.

But they came up and held a ceremony and blessed the spring and that because-- historically, they would come up here because this water comes out from Mother Earth, and it would come up here.

So it has religious significance to them.

And they come up here for their spirit quest and that sort of thing.

And they would collect mint and berries and that sort of stuff.

-Cool.

That's really cool.

So what is next?

-Well, we're gonna go down and do a pound count and weigh some fish, and then we're gonna load them in a truck and go over to Sacramento Pass and-- -And release them.

- --and stock some fish.

-Let's do it.

-Let's do it!

-The whole process is all about balance and the attention to detail.

Back at the raceway, I got into waders and got right it.

It was time to collect 200 trout to be planted in a nearby pond.

Buck got the truck.

Mike and I corralled the trout.

But before we started to fill up the truck, we needed to figure out a weight of a specific number of trout.

I netted 10 in my first swipe.

These got weighed, Buck kept count.

From there we netted and started to fill up the truck.

Once we hit our mark of 200, it was time to hit the road and get to planting.

-So the first thing we do is take this cap off.

-Okay.

-All righty.

And now you lift the whole thing up.

You have to lift it all the way up and hold it.

-Hold it up?

-Yep.

Because otherwise it'll drop down.

-It will stop the fish.

-Yep.

-All right.

Count me down.

Give me a 3-2-1.

-3...2...1.

Off they go.

Look at them swim.

-They're trying to go back up stream.

-Yep.

-A whole bunch of them about to come right now.

There they all go, right there.

-And this is why we do this.

-A couple are fighting it.

-Yep.

I'll grab that net.

-Three.

Two.

You got one left.

There we go.

Can I drop this now?

-Yep.

-Okay.

-And there we go.

-Shake them out, and get them all the way out.

I want to look to double check there's nothing there, but I'm worried I'll put my head down and one will come at me.

[laughter] -And so we got to see them from the start-- -All the way down to the end.

- --and this is the finished product, going out to setting them free for the anglers.

So when you, when you buy a fishing license, this is where your money is going.

-That's really cool.

I appreciate you letting me be part of the process.

That was fun.

-Yes, it was.

-I'll have a whole new appreciation next time I go fishing.

-Yep.

-Buck is a great guy.

I really enjoyed my time with him.

All I can think about was how many anglers owe this guy.

Now it's back to the park and get settled in.

But first, a quick stop in Baker.

Baker is a small town just outside of Great Basin National Park.

It serves as a gateway into this natural wonderland.

With a population of under 100 residents, Baker is all about the spirit of rural charm and tranquility.

Despite its small size, the town offers essential amenities for visitors exploring the park.

I stopped by the Bristlecone General Store to talk to Liz about Baker and the park.

All right, Liz.

We're here at your general store.

-Welcome.

-So tell me about how you came to own this general store?

(Liz Woolsy) Well, a common phrase I've used over the last five years is "All roads lead to Baker."

My husband and I arrived in Baker in 2018 for his job with the National Park Service, Great Basin National Park, and instantly fell in love with the mountains and the people and the pace of life.

He's getting set to retire, so we talked about what we were doing.

I said if we could figure out how to stay in Baker, we certainly would love it, put down some roots.

And this property came for sale in the end of 2021.

-Cool.

What made you decide to do a general store versus open a restaurant or something like that?

-Right.

So my husband and I love to travel in kind of off-the-grid places, remote areas.

And when you find a store that has that motor oil, duct tape, Fix-a-Flat, something fresh to eat, it's sometimes a lifesaver, right?

-Right.

-So I said, You know, if I could, I want to have that kind of store to be that oasis for people when they're traveling, because Baker is what we say is in the middle of everywhere, but it's very far to the next town.

-Certainly.

-Nearly 65 miles away.

If you forgot something on your travels, yeah, it's a long way-- -Stop on by.

You've only been here for a few years, but do you know much about the history of Baker and how it got started?

-Sure do.

So of course the big boom of mining out west, trying to make it rich.

A lot of people came out west for mining, but ranching was also pretty big here.

And in 1890 George Baker established Baker Ranch, a cattle ranch.

-Hence the name.

-Hence the name.

You always name the town after yourself.

And it's been a cattle ranch continuously since then.

But more recently, a different family with the same name Baker, not related to George, has been operating it.

-That worked out perfectly.

-Yeah.

And but they also-- Absalom Lehman, who tried to make it in mining and couldn't strike it rich, he decided to be an entrepreneur and started selling cave tour tickets.

And people could go down with candles and tour Lehman Caves.

-Cool.

-So it became a source of-- this one mile cave became a source of interest, and the Department of Interior picked it up as Lehman Caves National Monument in 1922.

-Cool.

So with the Lehman Caves and with the Great Basin National Park right here, you must meet people from all over the world.

-All over the world.

-How is that, meeting people from everywhere?

-In Baker...

I tell you, all roads lead to Baker.

We had 15 nationalities stay at our hotel last year.

-Fifteen?

-Yep.

-Wow!

-Just today, we had a group of Italians, Germans, people from the Netherlands have been here.

It's been so fun because they love the West.

They want to experience the heat of summer, the open skies, the mountains.

-It's so different from where they're from.

-So different.

And then when they come in here, they have, you know, we can give them some information.

Whatever their needs are, we can meet them.

-That's really cool.

-Yeah.

-If I'm coming into Baker and I have one day, what do I need to see?

What do I need to do in Baker?

-There's so many wonderful trails in this park.

But if you have one day, you should go to Lehman Caves Visitor Center, get oriented.

Go up the scenic drive, Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, all the way to 10,000 feet.

Take the Alpine Lakes loop.

Go see the bristlecones.

It's amazing up there.

And that's really-- the bristlecone pines are the 5,000-year-old trees.

The Alpine Lakes, it's really quite a stunning experience.

-All right.

I'm gonna put you on the spot now.

-Okay.

-If you had to describe Baker in one word, what would that be?

-Creative.

-Okay.

I like that.

-We are a very eclectic and creative community.

A lot of artisans live here, work here.

And that creative spirit helps us, you know, stay positive, stay together, create opportunities for socializing and events and things like that.

Yep.

-Awesome.

Well, Liz, thank you so much.

I appreciate that.

-Thanks for coming, and hope to see you again sometime.

-Absolutely.

♪♪♪ From here I head into the park.

It is an amazing drive in.

The mountains are absolutely beautiful.

I decided to camp in the park.

I wanted the full experience.

The plan is to get camp set up and then go on a hike.

Great Basin National Park has a lot of campsites.

I found this campsite online at recreation.gov.

You can see pictures of the area, read reviews, and secure the campsite all right on this site.

I highly recommend it.

Great Basin National Park is amazing.

It is a hidden gem boasting rugged beauty and unparalleled solitude.

Spanning over 77,000 acres, this park is a testament to the diverse landscape of the Great Basin region.

From the towering peaks of the Snake Range to the ancient bristlecone pine forests that cling to the slopes.

One of the park's most iconic features is Wheeler Peak, the second highest peak in Nevada, standing at an impressive 13,063 feet.

Visitors can embark on challenging hikes to the summit for breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding desert valleys and alpine terrain.

Beyond its stunning landscapes, Great Basin National Park is also a haven for outdoor enthusiasts and wildlife enthusiasts alike.

The park offers a wealth of recreational opportunities including hiking, camping, stargazing, and wildlife viewing.

With over 60 miles of hiking trails ranging from easy nature walks to strenuous backcountry tracks, there's something for adventurers of all skill levels.

There are a lot of trails here... a lot.

And the variety of trails is fantastic.

There is something for everyone, all skill levels and all ages.

Today I'll be heading out to the Pole Canyon Trail.

The Pole Canyon Trail offers adventurers a captivating journey through diverse ecosystems and breathtaking landscapes.

This is a moderate level trail approximately 6.6 miles round trip.

The trail winds its way through rugged terrain showcasing the parks unique flora and fauna.

Hikers will make their way through beautiful meadows adorned with wildflowers and ascend rocky slopes offering panoramic views of the area.

Pole Canyon Trail promises an unforgettable experience amidst the pristine wilderness of Great Basin National Park.

As the trail continues, the canyon closes in and the trees begin to form an amazing canopy.

Pole Canyon has so many things to see along the way.

This is a great way to spend an afternoon.

The trail eventually starts to narrow to a single track.

This is also when you'll need to keep your eyes open to take in all the many sights, all the things you more than likely would walk right past if you're not careful.

It's all about taking your time and taking it all in, appreciating all of it.

This area is not only stunning, it's peaceful and it's quiet but in all the right ways.

Tomorrow I'm heading to hike the Alpine Lakes Loop trail.

The Alpine Lakes Loop trail is a great hike through some of the park's most stunning landscapes.

This moderate to strenuous trail spans approximately 2.7 miles, offering hikers the chance to explore a variety of ecosystems from alpine meadows to subalpine forests.

Beginning at the Bristlecone parking area, the trail ascends steadily providing panoramic views of the surrounding Snake Range and Wheeler Peak, the park's highest point.

♪♪♪ The Alpine Lakes Loop trail is a beloved route among hikers seeking a challenging yet rewarding adventure.

This trail is definitely in my top five.

The sights alone... No matter where you look, there is something amazing.

If you haven't been here, make plans.

This is one of the nicest national parks I have ever been to, and it is in our very own backyard.

This has been an amazing adventure.

The Great Basin National Park has so much to offer.

I didn't even get close to covering everything in the park.

So many more trails, the caves, the glacier, the bristlecone pine trees, so many things to do.

I will definitely be coming back.

As the trail continues, it leads hikers to a series of pristine alpine lakes nestled amidst the granite peaks.

The first lake encountered is Stella Lake renowned for its crystal clear waters and stunning reflections of Wheeler Peak.

When you get to the end of the trail, you come up to two different alpine lakes, and it is absolutely breathtaking.

The hike up to get here, not so bad.

But that altitude, that will get you.

Eventually, hikers arrive at Teresa Lake where they can rest and recharge while taking in the serene beauty of this remote alpine oasis.

All I ask is when you do visit, please take care.

Take care of yourself by being prepared.

You'll be able to enjoy yourself more.

Talk to people who have been to the park.

Check out the website.

Call the park.

Take a look on social media.

Ask questions.

Be prepared.

Take care of the park.

Pack in, pack out.

Be respectful of the land and its inhabitants.

Appreciate it all.

I know I did.

Till next time, I'm Connor Fields, and this is Outdoor Nevada.

♪♪♪