Mushroom hunting is the one type of hunting that is on my bucket list. So, when a foraging excursion was offered through the Napa Truffle Festival I immediately signed up for a memorable fungi adventure.
Much like an underground rave, the location was not disclosed until the day before the hunt. On the down low.
We woke in the wee hours of the morning and drove to the town of Angwin, a few miles East of St. Helena. The instructions said to meet at the discreet "dirt parking lot where the road doglegs sharply to the right". This mushroom hunting site must be on the deep down low.
Three mycologists, fungi gurus, would be leading the wild mushroom hunt.
They started with brief introductions to what fungus may be awaiting in the woods, some edible, some poisonous, some neither.
Though the biggest warning was that the most dangerous thing about mushroom hunting was getting lost, not eating a poisonous one. This is because mushroom foragers should always use the rule, "when in doubt, throw it out."
With the Wild Mushroom Hunting lesson complete, the guides let us on the loose to forage.
And, at first, we found nothing. Even Rico, the truffle dog, was coming up empty.
But then, deep in the pines, things started to turn around. This is where I spotted my very first mushroom, a Lactarius Xanthogalactus. Huh? In layman's terms, a really cute brown mushroom.
There may have been a girlish shrill come from my mouth at my fungus find.
Then, it was a mushroom hunting frenzy as we scoured the forest hillsides for the next two hours.
My competitive nature got the best of me as I frantically searched for the biggest, best and most unique. And, I found all of that until…
…Peter hit the mushroom hunting jackpot with this granddaddy, one that even the experts couldn't identify.
A two foot shroom trumps my dozen one inchers. Size matters.
We walked away from the mushroom adventure with a basketful of bounty.
Even though some of the shrooms could be used to create a delicious meal, I opted to put them on the counter where they could be viewed for the next few days, reminding me of the experience.
Have you ever been wild mushroom hunting?
Twitter Updates
Fun! I really wanted to participate in the truffle festival in some way but had too many things going on these last couple of weeks. I have never gone mushroom hunting but it is very popular in the Czech Republic, and when I lived there, I always heard people talk about it. Seems like a nice way to spend some quality time outdoors.
The Mushroom Hunting event was the only thing I participated in this year, but it made we want to attend a lot more of the events next year!
How funny! I didn't know you could do something like that!sounds like fun
I would have kept them out too, in stead of cooking them. I like mushrooms but have you read my post about eating black truffles…you would appreciate with your "foodie" background.
I also think its so sweet that your husband does so much of you list items with you!
I want to read your truffle post! I’ll have to head over to your site and check it out.
I am lucky that my husband will do just about anything with me, even though he sometimes will roll his eyes
Though he will NOT do anything related to dancing. He hates it!
Amazing! I would love to do this some day. Apparently when my Mom was a child, my grandfather used to pick their own mushrooms all the time. I'm not sure he stuck with the "when it doubt, throw it out" slogan, though – my Mom recalls eating a few he was "only 90%" sure about. But, she's alive!
With so many varieties of mushrooms I would be a bit frightened to go mushroom hunting on my own! But, my mom said that she used to go all the time too. And she’s still alive too
This sounds like so much fun! I've thought about doing this before, and then forgot about it. I didn't realize there were oranized groups. Makes sense, though. I'm going to have to remember this.
I had a blast! Though, I would also love to go mushroom hunting in Italy specifically for truffles.
http://theultimatelifelist.blogspot.com/2011/11/life-list-eat-black-truffles.html
oh, I forgot to write something….I think Z started crying…anyhow-here's my post on truffles! I'm probably one of the few who feel this way.
OMG! That was NOT a good truffle adventure for you! But, I did enjoy reading about it