The Central Cascades are alive with Fall rains, and with the damp comes our Mushroom Spring. I’ve taken a few half day romps up into the woods of higher elevations, over 3,000 feet, and found a trace of delicious mycological wonder. These are modest harvest, and yes, some are bug eaten, but not enough to ruin the experience of a fresh porcine from the forest. The handful pictured above was harvested in one brief dip into the understory from a remote logging road. The area was dominated by spruce, with a good needle base. The chantrelles were found on the edge of a transition zone along this stand, where some rocky outcroppings formed. There were older mushrooms that had past harvesting peak, and some buttons that I left for future spore release. Since I’m usually picking for myself, I choose to take a modest handful if things are scarce. It’s still early days in the mushroom calendar, but the temperatures are cooling off, and rains are lingering, which makes for the right conditions to get into the woods for some picking.
I cover a lot of ground in my truck, driving to the right elevations, stand ages, and terrain that makes for good mushrooming. Hemlock groves are not ideal, you want spruce for boletes and Douglas fir for chantrelles. Both are out in the high groves, but chantrelles have been popping in the lower elevations too. I’ll be keeping an eye out for them during hunting season, and into early November. After the first frosts, mushrooms tend to go dormant till spring warmth returns. It could also be light related, I always wonder about that. I find mushrooms in light patches sometimes, only noticed because of the beautiful qualities light brings to a fruiting fungi. Afternoon light seems the most picturesque to me; green and brown forest floor make the unusual colors like the red caps of these russulas pop in the landscape.
Most days the skies are grey, and precipitation comes with the season. Mosses and lichens spill out in shaggy splendor, ushering the mycological feast that blooms up through the damp soil and woody debris. On this day, the grey light kept a mute tone in the forest, and I focused my energy on scouring steeper slopes where deep needle beds are turning into sponges with the rain. My gate is uneven and almost rickety to keep up with the changing elevations and fallen branches. In one stand that had recently been thinned, stepping over dropped small trees became too tedious, and, though the terrain was relatively level, too many sharp broken branches littered my path, and often brushed my legs and calves with too much familiarity. To avoid getting a serious puncture wound, I left those groves early with no harvest, but intact legs.
I love wandering up and down the slopes of these mountains. There are birds singing, Douglas squirrels chirping their territorial warnings, and occasional waterfalls crescendoing off rocky overhangs. The mists these falling waters form float across the mossy banks and bunker tree roots in these dense forests. My best hunting grounds are in The Snoqualmie Tree Farm, where active logging changes up the environment constantly. It’s actually getting a bit harder to find more mature spruce groves, the timber trade is making fast work of mature trees throughout these industrial stands. Boletes like older forests, with old growth being ideal for many of our favored culinary species. Porcine does not grow in young stands. Chantrelles prefer them, under 60, over 30, in most cases I’ve observed. I keep talking about this to help those hoping to find their own harvesting spots, and to save time. With harvesting, you have a responsibility to take with restraint. Share the wealth of a forest flush, it’s good karma. Online announcements of where to find a flush is not helpful to preserving mushrooms for future harvests. Check your hubris please.
All my shares about mushrooms keep the harvesting spots vague enough, while still talking about where to go. I hope these posts also offer responsible guidelines for proper harvesting practices. An encouraging piece of advice- a mushroom is short lived, but it’s mycelia, the majority of a mushroom’s makeup, which lives in the substrate and is not the fruiting body we harvest- that body of a fungi can be very delicate, and should be respected. Cut your boletes to keep the root in the soil. Cut or as I do, squeeze the day-lighting stipe form the ground, leaving the bottom stem and roots behind. Take this time in harvesting to preserve the mycology. I’ve not hunted for truffles, but rakes should NOT be employed because of all the tearing of the mycelia from the soil when metal tongs rip the substrate. That’s a lazy, industrial way to harvest, and should never be employed by ethical mushroomers. Want another way to charm mushrooms? Pick up trash you find in the woods. They appreciate your reverence for the landscape and care in taking out what other careless people left behind. It leaves a more pristine wilderness for the mushrooms to inhabit.
Want more foraging advice? Sing. Sing to the mushrooms, specifically about which types you are looking for. It helps focus your mind on the search, entertains your friends, and does charm the mushrooms. I use this technique when fishing too, and it always seems to bring me luck in the field, so sing. Sometimes I don’t want to belt out a tune, so an original poem to the mushrooms can also work wonders. These are special tricks of the trade folks, try it out and see what happens. I’m not saying you can sing a mushroom out of anywhere, but if you’re in the right environment, it does not hurt to offer praise to your quarry. Speaking of offerings, a bit of tobacco to the woods before you start your hunt is a great way to pay your respects to the wilds you’re about to enter. Even at the tree farm, I lay a pinch of loose pipe tobacco on the landscape in thanks for the opportunity to experience this place and forage. If you don’t like tobacco, sage and other died herbs are fine. I’ve also given some trimmings of my hair. When we are taking something, we should give something back in return. Imagine how balanced the world would be if humans thought this way.
Sometimes you’ll find a lone mushroom that looks so good to eat, but it’s alone, so please leave it. This young puffball looked so scrumptious, but it was alone, so I could not take it. I can remember the area and come back again once more rains have fallen. Usually, where there is one puff ball, there are many. This is often the case in mushroom hunting, so mapping where you go, and returning at different times can pay off- if you have the time. Puffballs come with a warning- they are often fruiting in roads, which can harbor chemicals like automotive liquids and chemical sprays used to keep forest roads open on the edges. Please observe your surroundings and know the history of use in a place before you harvest there. Many mushrooms are pollution remedies, naturally neutralizing many hazardous chemicals, which are then held in their flesh. You don’t want to eat that concentration of chemicals, so know where it’s safe to pick and where to avoid harvesting. I do not recommend roadsides- they are often sprayed with defoliants, which can build up in the soils where the mushrooms fruit. Sometimes you can tell by the dead roadside plants, but the spraying is usually done seasonally, so sometimes a roadside may look lush, but the chemicals are still in the soil. Just avoid roadside harvesting.
On my hunt in the elevations, I had to go up and down slopes to find most of my harvest. This takes strength in my legs and fancy footwork. Be able to traverse the landscapes you enter. I have to keep track of my muscles, heading back to the truck to take a break if my knees get shaky. Rushing never helps, and the faster you go in the woods, the more you miss. Mushrooms can be very illusive, so slow observation, sweeping back and forth through the underbrush, promises the most successful mushroom hunters. Also- stay hydrated. I get a great workout hiking around the slopes, but I also have to take breaks to hydrate, get a snack, and check the sky for any immediate weather changes. The mountains can hide a storm until it’s right upon you. I checked the forecast often while I was out on this day, because there was a front heading our way, expected to drop in the late afternoon, so I was hunting in the late morning. I packed extra layers and a full change of cloths in case I got soaked. Rain is not needed to find yourself soaked in a temperate rainforest. Crawling through damp brush can be enough to soak through a pair of hiking pants. I had a wool wrap on to repel most of the dampness, but I had to change my socks once to keep my feet dry. Be aware of your body, the weather, and timing to stay safe in the mountains.
I could feel the changing pressure as the front moved in. My hunt that day took me first to the high points, then I slowly came down, hitting groves I had scouted on my drive up. I did not want to be far out when the rains began, and avoid them all together would be ideal. My timing was perfect, as I covered all the high points planned for in my trip, with enough time to take a few detours in the lowlands in hoped of finding a chantrelle patch. The gold mushrooms never materialized, but the hunt had taken me to some new places in the tree farm, and I’d also scouted possible clear cuts to hunt in for deer in the following weeks of modern firearm season. As I hunt for mushrooms, I’m also mapping the terrain for future hunts- both animal and fungal. I did spook a grouse in one forest, but it was alone, and not on my menu that day. Bear season also overlays the mushroom spring, but as I’ve mentioned before, and will again- it’s best to quest for one thing at a time. Mushroom hunting means a lot of looking at the ground, while deer hunting requires a lot of still observation from a vantage point that overlooks a wide area. Black-tail move through the landscape, so you can sit and wait. Mushrooms are still, never moving from where they fruit, so you have to seek them out- usually in hard to get to spots, because the low hanging fruit gets picked early on.
My last pro-tip- if you are not finding mushrooms, you’re too close to the road. Take a hike another 500′ from the road and then start your hunt. If you find yourself in a place that has recently been picked, move on. It does not help the mushroom harvest if we’re over-harvesting. Also- the whole go another 500′ in applies to actively managed forests, not pristine wilderness. It’s not good for the wilds when we push in and disrupt them. I can write a whole other blog about this, but as responsible mushroomers we can find what we’re looking for in disturbed ecologies. Going deep into old growth wilderness does more harm than good. Humans have take up more than their fair share of space on this finite planet. Please be mindful of restoration areas too- keep to the marked trails, timber farms, and well established accesses. You’ll find enough mushrooms in these terrains, and leave the wilder places to the wilderness.
As the afternoon continued, I came down from the high country and hunted the lowlands for chantrelles with no luck. Then the slow patter of rain began, and I finished my rout with a quick scouting of a lake for some future fishing. As I began the drive home, the rain came in and settled across the landscape. It was smart timing, as the light does not linger when evening sets in. I’d started my forage in late morning, with a plan to be out of the woods by 3pm, giving me plenty of daylight to get home for farm chores. It also allowed a buffer in case I ran into trouble, I’ve had to change a tire out there, and I’ve ended up on the wrong side of a mountain when exploring. Having the extra daylight in case of unforeseen obstacles is a smart part of getting outside and back home safely. I can’t stress enough having a solid plan with clear directions, imparting that to a reliable friend to check back in with when you return, and knowing your own rout, communicating it well to others, then following those directions.
I had a wonderful time learning and exploring in the forest, while remaining safe. I’m alone in the woods a lot, which is not ideal, but can be very enjoyable with proper planning. The mushrooms are fun to get to know, and know them you must if you plan to actually harvest them. if you are a beginner, trying to learn, start with taking good pictures, noting substrate, location, distinguishing characteristics of your fungus, and then following up with ID back at home, using the incredible knowledge of the internet to help. However, only with an expert mycologist in the field, should you ever start picking mushrooms with the intention of eating them. Get an expert’s advice and guidance before you hunt these incredible fungal friends. Pictures and online ID can go a long way to introducing you to your new fungal friends, but without an expert in the field, there is too mush ambiguity on the line. Some mushrooms are so poisonous, ingesting even one can literally melt your liver, kidneys, and so on. I am serious, and it is scary, so please consult an expert before you forage for mushrooms anywhere.
Also, note that my writings are about mushrooms in Western Washington- not anywhere else. All bioregions are different, and what might look like a safe mushroom from your own woodlands, can be deadly in a different region, so never assume with mushrooms. White gilled mushrooms are particularly anonymous, and often the culprit in accidental poisoning. I just leave all white gilled mushrooms alone- no matter what I might think. A brave mushroomer is a dead one- be cautious, take pictures, make notes, learn without eating and you’ll go far. Take a class with a mycologists to learn what to eat and where to find them. Enjoy my tales of foraging and go look around- observing is how best to learn. Enjoy the amazing fungal world, as well as the natural world it’s set within. Nature is an abundant teacher, and her lessons can be harsh, so pay attention and plan well before you enter her classroom. You can find mushrooms in city parks, suburb garden beds, even high dollar landscaping around a golf course. You don’t have to go far into the wilds to meet a mushroom.
EEC Forest Stewardship 