Step 1: Don't get lost.
Step 2: Don't poison yourself.
That's it. You're welcome.
Step 2: Don't poison yourself.
That's it. You're welcome.
Living in Oregon, with month after month of torrential downpour and an absence of sunshine can really get really old. Just read about the incidence of Seasonal Affective Disorder and depleted vitamin D in all of us Pacific Northwesterners if you think I'm being dramatic. Because I am not quirky enough, AND, in an effort to find some way to actually be thankful for the dampness, I decided to cultivate a new hobby...foraging for fungi. Oh, and did you know that mushrooms are a good source of Vit D, especially if they have soaked up some sun? Synchronicity mother-effers.
Mushrooms are elusive as fuck. No one will help you find the good spots; mycophiles hoard this information. I was just reading some crazy stuff about fungi-fiends bequeathing their morel patches to heirs in their will and shit. True story. And before you get all judgey, just try going out and finding some legit, edible shrooms on your own. I learned really quickly...you guard that information with your life, or offer someone a bribe.
There is a learning curve for the beginning forager and I've learned some important lessons. Getting lost in a giant forest and wondering whether you may have to eat your decrepit beagle to stay alive may be one of them. As you can see from the picture above, everything in the forest looks the same. It is easy to get turned around and lose your bearings, especially when you are staring at the ground.
Getting lost is something that mushroom hunters do best. If you ask anyone that works in search and rescue, they will tell you that when they are sent out, it is generally because some idiot got lost looking for fungi. You may think that YOU would never get lost. You're wrong. There are some general safety precautions that I learned from some really smart folks at Bark. If you are going for the first time, please be smart and go with the pros. Mark and his friends shared their super secret spot with us, wrangled us so that we didn't get lost (ahem...worked better for some rather than others), and helped to identify the mushrooms that we found. They also do really great conservation for the Mt Hood Wilderness to ensure that it is restored and preserved.
So safety:
1) go with as large of a group as possible.
2) Tell people that you are going and when you plan to return.
3) Bring supplies in case you get lost.
4) If you have a GPS unit separate from your phone use it. There is no service on Mt Hood or in most areas you would be shrooming in for that matter.
5) Use radios if you are with a group.
6) Carry whistles.
7) Try to walk straight into an area without looking first, then go back the way you came in a U shape to try not to get turned around.
8) Look up and around frequently and try to find markers, or establish markers of your own by tying colored cloth around trees.
9) Use a compass.
10) Wear orange unless you want to be shot dead by a hunter.
If you think all of these precautions are just silly, read about this expert that went into the forest to find some morels in Seattle, a forest that she was extremely familiar with, and got lost. They still have not found her body. Just buy a damn whistle and a compass. You're still cool, and you'll be alive.
Getting lost is something that mushroom hunters do best. If you ask anyone that works in search and rescue, they will tell you that when they are sent out, it is generally because some idiot got lost looking for fungi. You may think that YOU would never get lost. You're wrong. There are some general safety precautions that I learned from some really smart folks at Bark. If you are going for the first time, please be smart and go with the pros. Mark and his friends shared their super secret spot with us, wrangled us so that we didn't get lost (ahem...worked better for some rather than others), and helped to identify the mushrooms that we found. They also do really great conservation for the Mt Hood Wilderness to ensure that it is restored and preserved.
So safety:
1) go with as large of a group as possible.
2) Tell people that you are going and when you plan to return.
3) Bring supplies in case you get lost.
4) If you have a GPS unit separate from your phone use it. There is no service on Mt Hood or in most areas you would be shrooming in for that matter.
5) Use radios if you are with a group.
6) Carry whistles.
7) Try to walk straight into an area without looking first, then go back the way you came in a U shape to try not to get turned around.
8) Look up and around frequently and try to find markers, or establish markers of your own by tying colored cloth around trees.
9) Use a compass.
10) Wear orange unless you want to be shot dead by a hunter.
If you think all of these precautions are just silly, read about this expert that went into the forest to find some morels in Seattle, a forest that she was extremely familiar with, and got lost. They still have not found her body. Just buy a damn whistle and a compass. You're still cool, and you'll be alive.
Having pros with us was great because it made it less likely we would end up in the ER. There are a lot of poisonous mushrooms that look extremely similar to the good ones. Buy a guide with really good color pictures. I suggest All That Rain Promises and More. All of the seasoned Shroom-Vets had this on them. The dude on the cover is hilarious, but also a super sweet mushroom genius. I bought the Complete Mushroom Hunter book, which has large pics and a lot of introductory info that I appreciated. The book itself is giant which doesn't make it easy to lug around as you are hunting, and believe me, you will want a comparison in the field to save you time and energy in gathering a ton of poisonous duds.
If you don't have a pro with you, there are a ton of identification groups you can find on Facebook where you can post your pic and have really nice people help you to not die. You can also go to the grocery store and purchase the type of mushroom that you are hunting for and compare them side-by-side. The general rule is that if you are not 100% positive of what you have found, you DO NOT consume it.
If you don't have a pro with you, there are a ton of identification groups you can find on Facebook where you can post your pic and have really nice people help you to not die. You can also go to the grocery store and purchase the type of mushroom that you are hunting for and compare them side-by-side. The general rule is that if you are not 100% positive of what you have found, you DO NOT consume it.
As an aside, I'm thinking about rewriting the description of this blog as one woman's repeated attempts to injure herself, accumulate new hobbies with an increased likelihood of death, and die in the wilderness. Happy hunting.
Times lost in the forest while mushroom hunting to date...3. Times I have gone hunting to date...3. Solid record.
Times lost in the forest while mushroom hunting to date...3. Times I have gone hunting to date...3. Solid record.