Mushrooms: In search of nature's secluded pots of gold.
*My experiences relate to mushrooms found within Australia. The conditions for growth over here can differ greatly from other continents. Knowing that is kinda cool because if you were so inclined, you could travel the world according to season tasting all the different varieties of edibles. It's generally not the best idea to eat wild mushrooms unless you really know what you're doing (as you can die)!! If you feel that you must due to that insatiable hunger for the pursuit of truth, educate yourself and ask for ID checks from online forums.*
Over the years I've found the best way to enjoy long walks out in the countryside is by attaching a goal to it. Unlike some who might be rewarded by an electronic coach, my goal involves finding natural goodies along the way. It encourages me to take paths that most wouldn't take, as it would seem this is the best way to find any kind of truth/reward in all aspects of life. It's strange.. this has been a hobby of mine for the last five years where perhaps 10 years ago I was searching for those rare and hard to obtain flowers in World of Warcraft with equal enthusiasm. What a wonderful transition! Now, it must be said that for me, I'm far more interested in the hunt than the actual consumption of such these days. I figure that if or more so when we head into a great depression, it will be good to know where the free food is to be found!
For that special kind of mushroom which appeals to your higher mental faculties (and by that I mean to say that they're good for brain development and overall health - nothing nefarious here!), I find that it's best to start hunting them in June (although this depends on your state... and also earlier for Saffron's). You can start to notice ideal conditions when the car windscreens are frosty and there's a great deal of fog at night... when it really starts to get increasingly difficult to get out of bed to face reality on those brisk, winter mornings, that is your wake up call! Get out of bed you lazy fuck! Knowledge and wisdom is best attained through discomfort! The early bird gets the worm.
So.. you are up and out of bed. It seems abnormal to now go for a drive out to some secluded area and start scouring the woods off the beaten path, right? That it is, but normality is overrated! Some people might conclude that your motivations aren't pure, so it is important to have a reason to be out and about in such vile conditions. As much as you might feel that you are essentially doing the lord's work, to simply state your desire to find mushrooms of value can all too easily be interpreted negatively, leading others (including the authorities) to suspect that you might be one of those hippie freaks in need of a bit of punishment in order to fold back into line with their adopted, cuckolded stance on life. It's best therefore to have a story more palatable to their blinkered reality in order to save time getting caught up with them. There are a few good tips that I can think of in order to handle these kinds of encounters..
- Take a camera along with you which hangs around your neck. You'll find all kinds of oddities worthy of appreciation, and taking photos of the scenery is socially acceptable.
- Dress appropriately. If you're the type to wear hippie/alternative clothing, avoid this for the day. Dress plain and cover your strange hair styles etc. Look "respectable"!
- Always take a backpack. Make sure to use the backpack when coming back out into the open towards the main paths.
- Find appreciation in other areas other than your main objective. This might mean diversifying what you collect. It might mean that you also take an interest in the birds of the area. I was once questioned by a man at 7am out in the middle of nowhere in a chance encounter. He wanted to know if I was "bird-banding". Now.. at the time I wasn't sure what the fuck he was talking about, but I now take an interest in such for future encounters with others.
With all of the aforementioned tips, it's important to stress that I know we're all wholesome, law abiding citizens for the most part. I can see why you might think that if you're doing absolutely nothing wrong, why take on this advice? I can only say that it's a bit like how if you're driving through one of the more crime-ridden areas of your city in a shitty car which is falling apart, you're more likely to be stopped by the authorities. This can be a major inconvenience and the encounters are often entirely unpleasant. I give this advice only so that you can minimize interactions with those pesky humans, maximizing what little time you have to enjoy nature.
Why might people question your motivations? Well, some freaks are into "magic mushrooms" and so also out at such times. If you happen to encounter one of these individuals it's best to smile, maintain eye contact with them at all times until they're out of your vicinity. I have for example walked out of a forest only to be questioned directly by an officer of the law. Would he know the difference between a Saffron Milk Cap and something more sinister? I think not... but his suspicion would no doubt lead him to perhaps hold or even arrest you until he can verify such.
The hunt.
Location is important. As someone that might never have successfully found anything of value before, it can be frustrating at first. You can walk around for days without finding anything! I find that pine forests are a great place to start, but areas with bracken fern and gum trees are fantastic too. It's a bit like fishing or anything else in that patience is a virtue. The next factor to take into account is the location of creek beds and valleys. Valleys and creeks increase your chances of finding mushrooms because the area is far more moist. As in other areas of life, to be moist is a good thing. It's best to search contour maps online which provide information on water formations. Most normal street maps aren't nearly as detailed.
Elevation is another factor. Too high up and you won't find anything (Will find Saffron's), but too low towards the creek can also prove fruitless. There's a certain sweet spot to get used to in terms of elevation which I can't really offer better advice on. If you're in pine forests, a good sign is when you come across lots of Amanita Muscarias. Another factor which must be taken into account is lighting. Where there's too much direct sunlight, you won't find many mushrooms. This means that often you might find mushrooms on one side of the creek or forest but not the other, depending on the surrounding treeline. This is important to keep in mind so that if you're having no luck, mix it up and find contrary locations.
When you find a mushroom of value it's important to realise that where there's one there'll likely be more. It's best to get a bit lower to the ground, move foliage out of the way and really investigate the surrounding area. They're usually not to be found out in the open, so it's in the more dimly lit areas that you should be looking anyway. Having said that, if it's a really thick pine forest it can get too dark. It's best to initially store them in paper or hessian bags before later moving them to your backpack. Always take more bags than you think you'll require! Plastic bags are no good and will spoil/damage your goods. If you happen to be one of those people only interested in psychedelics, I suggest that you think outside of that box and look for all edible mushrooms. Eventually it will occur to you that free food is free food, and that all those years of looking only for magic has kept you from taking full advantage of all of nature's bounties.
I won't offer advice on identification, other than to say that make sure you know what you're eating and realise the value of spore prints in the process of verification. Take plenty of photo's of the mushrooms you wish to ID at various stages. This means as soon as you picked them, a few hours after when they've changed colour and when you obtain a spore print.
Storage
For years I've used containers lined with "damp-rid", but a faster way is to use a large food dehydrator. They need to be paper dry. For certain mushrooms it might be an idea to grind them down into a powder just to maximize storage space. It's good to use those silica gel desiccant's much like what you'd find in medication/supplement bottles.
The most important aspect of mushroom hunting may not even be in the mushrooms themselves but in getting out amongst nature and away from the television/computer screens.