Our group foraging haul on display
First of all, it is really critical you learn about and have a solid confidence in identifying, preparing, and harvesting mushrooms in the right way. I have done this activity with friends who have a wide knowledge base and experience in wild mushrooms that are edible. One thing you should be aware of is most mushrooms are not edible, and while most won’t kill you, you can get really sick or even have risk of death picking the wrong one. There are a few mushrooms that are deadly. It is important to learn about these ones as well as the desired wild ones to forage and harvest. If you don’t have a team of experts with your network, I recommend going to an organization like Puget Sound Mycological Society here in Seattle. They have an annual program where you can go see mushrooms, learn about them, and even taste edible ones. You can get more involved with them and learn about how to learn how to identify the right ones for a long period of time before venturing out with your own team. I do recommend in the woods or any kind of hiking you go in a group with at least a few experienced foragers like myself.
That being said, it is easy even for an experienced expert and years experienced forager to misidentify mushrooms. Take the popular and abundant chanterelle mushrooms for example. There are ones called false chanterelles that look almost exactly like a real one, but their gills, color, and shape sometimes give away they are not the real one. It is easy to want to find the mushroom and have a bit of fatigue from exercising and falsely grab one especially when they are young. It is a lot easier to see the difference on a much larger more developed mushroom. This is why having a few experts on hand to debate a bit and double check what you pick.
The mushrooms I found with the help of my group. It is good to share with others because often there is plenty if you find a good spot. Make sure to cut below on the stem rather than pull it completely out, so it has a chance to grow back and continue the cycle for others to enjoy!
The most sought after mushrooms often are the easiest to identify thankfully. Chanterelles, Hedgehogs, Cauliflower, Angel Wings, Boletes, Oyster, Chicken of the Woods, Bears Head Tooth, Lions Mane, Lobster, etc. are all mushrooms that are quite easy to identify with experience, and they are a delight to eat. If they are too small or rotten, it is best to leave them behind. Cut at the stem, so you leave a little to the mushroom to keep growing and produce again next year!
Equipment includes good hiking gear, a handmade basket with holes so spores can go back in the forest, and a foraging knife with a brush can be great to bring along. Make sure you have plenty of water and a little snack along the way. Maybe even have some rain gear, a med kit, and some TP and a trowel in case of an emergency pit stop off trail hidden. I usually don’t need some of this, but you never know!
The Great Benevolent Maple. It is a large Maple tree with lower branches the size of a tree.
Processing some mushrooms via a soak can be hard on a Chanterelle, so a good rinse is good for those. Some are good to soak a bit and wash off in running water or the spray gun to really get in there. I cut up the mushrooms I am dehydrating and load carefully in a dehydrator. You can also use an oven. It is easy to over do it, so thicker slices may be good with some mushrooms. Be sure to monitor it so you don’t over cook them. Sometimes a full over night dry can be a bit too much, so 4-6 hours is something you may want to be around to check. This is also a good method for preserving mushrooms you may not want to use right away, but may want to throw in some pasta or some dish later on. Dehydrated food is easy to preserve without any salt or curing. You can do this with fruit and other things as well, but use established recipes if you do add anything for storing food. Ziplocks are reusable and can be rewashed to keep them around longer. You can also use glass jars and other things if plastic is not wanted for a more airtight and green option.
Processing the Mushrooms at Home!
The exercise is a great benefit as is a meal plan around the foraging and good times with friends. We got a camp site this year, made foraging and hiking our main activity, but shenanigans happened at night with camp fires, marshmallows, and even gourmet wagyu steak dinner with risotto and broccolini sampling mead and other libations.
Me with my son who is about to graduate: Priceless!
I brought my son along as a way to bond and create a memory. He is a senior next year, and this may be one of our last trips together, so I wanted to create some positive experiences and have a captive audience on the way up with some real talk to guide him on his journey. I even gave him a pocket knife like my dad gave me and made sure to get a lot of good photos. Since I will be also doing his high school senior photos like I did my daughter, some of these will likely make it into his album.
A possible photo for the senior album! (Whisper: I do high school senior photos and make it fun!)
It is important to take the time to spend with your family and friends while you can because they grow up and age fast like we do, and you may not always have the opportunity or health to do so. That was a harder 2 hikes for everyone. We had a party of 17, 20s, 30s, 40s, and me the 51 year old. And to be fair, I am in better shape than a lot of them, but the bones and joints often hurt with longer hikes and steeper climbs with uneven ground, so it is important to pace yourself and know your limits while still getting out there and having fun. We did a hike first for about 6 miles with some walking around the campground prior, so probably 7-8 total the first day. 1-2 miles the second day near our site, but mostly vertical without many established paths. Safety first, take breaks, pace yourself, and make memories of a lifetime!
Explore the beauty of our lovely state. Make sure to be safe, do some research, and pick up your trash, leave it how you found it, to keep it nice for others! I found a lot of trash in the woods that should not have been there.
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