Langdon slowed down on the bumpy forest road to take a closer look to our left. He asked me if we should stop and take a look here. Umm, are you serious? Absolutely, I said. Moss carpeted the forest floor and the sun shined through the trees with a soft, yellow, ethereal glow. I spotted a faint foot path and couldn’t fathom a more inviting place to hunt mushrooms. This wasn’t the plan, but it felt like this is where we were meant to be.

Months earlier I sent an email to Langdon Cook, a local author and forager, asking if he would be interested in taking our book club group out for a day of mushroom hunting to go along with reading his book, The Mushroom Hunters. He said he doesn’t normally take groups out mushroom hunting, but for us he would make an exception. I was thrilled and couldn’t wait to share our plans with the group. Not only was Langdon taking us mushroom hunting, but he was taking us to one of his secret patches! He warned me that we would be going off trail into some rugged territory. I told him the group would be up for it.

We met at a park and ride and drove caravan-style down the freeway and up a forest service road. It was a gorgeous bluebird day, but my heart sank a little when I noticed the fresh snow on the mountain tops. Was the secret patch going to be snowed in? We hit snow a ways up the road and Langdon voiced his concern. We decided to hike a ways up to check out the conditions. The snow only got deepened as we climbed, but we enjoyed each other’s company and the views. Langdon went ahead of us to scout out the off-trail portion of the hike and came back disappointed. He said the way was rough and there was more snow in the woods than he expected. We agreed to head back to lower ground to see what we could find.

 

Mushrooms are colorful, beguiling, hideous, and transformative.

 

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed too, but as we found the sun rays guiding us into the lower elevation forest, I had a good feeling. We immediately found mushrooms growing on the mossy forest floor. We held them up to Langdon. What’s this, is it edible? Nope, he would say, and we continued to lurk, feeling strange to be off the trail. Suddenly I heard a collective Yay! from the group and we all huddled together to see what was found. It was a yellowfoot chanterelle, or as some call it, winter chanterelles. Langdon explained the features to us and what to look for. Sure enough, the bottom of the mushroom had a bright yellow color, a yellow foot, if you will.

Once we knew what we were looking for, we found them everywhere. We spread out into the trees and I’d hear a little squeal whenever someone found more. After a while Langdon yelled and said he found something for me. We all gathered again. It was an admirable bolete. The top was a deep velvety red and the underside looked like a sponge. We passed it around a squished the spongey side. He told me to chop it up and saute it in some butter and put it on a baguette. Keep it simple. I could do that. Later I found our mother and daughter team in the group holding something large and white, like the size of my head! Langdon had mentioned that he loved cauliflower mushrooms, and sure enough, they had found one. He couldn’t believe it as this was not the ideal place for them. It was definitely the find of the day!

After our foray, Langdon signed our books with full buckets to ya! the mushroom hunters way of saying good luck. We all went home with a basket of mushrooms and an enormous sense of pride. Langdon recommended a recipe for Scallop and Wild Mushroom Marsala and the next night I made dinner for once. My husband also came home from Napa Valley with a few nice bottles of wine. That night we celebrated and had the best meal I’ve had in a long time. I asked my husband, is it just me because I foraged these mushrooms or is this meal better than any restaurant meal? He agreed, if not to only humor me, but Evie doesn’t lie. She ate every bite!

I had come to Boyne City because I have always been drawn to nature’s secrets more than to, say, Hollywood’s secrets or the secrets of Wall Street hedge-fund managers. Nature is real. It exists beyond our ability to create it or even mediate it.

 

The Mushroom Hunters by Langdon Cook

 

Book Ends

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• Keep up with Langdon’s adventures on his blog, Fat of the Land
• Go listen to Langdon speak or keep an eye out for his foraging classes around Seattle
•  Did you know that a fungus in Oregon is the oldest currently living organism? Also, fungi may be the future.