The weather was beautiful, and given the lack of recent rainfall, the group of about 30 attendees found a surprising number of fungi: 20 different species! Foraging is normally not allowed within the park, but the FFSC is granted permission to pick during our guided forays, as long as none of the mushrooms leave the park boundary. We are very grateful for the opportunity! Spring is in full bloom in the mountains, so in addition to finding fungi, the group of foragers encountered a wide variety of beautiful flowers and both edible and medicinal plants, all part of the unique and rich habitat of the sandhills in the Santa Cruz mountains. The sandhills are made up of what geologists call “Santa Margarita Sandstone”, which dates to 10 – 12 million years ago, when this part of the San Lorenzo Valley was underneath the ocean. The habitat is also great for finding mushrooms at Quail Hollow, as there’s a wide variety of trees including Redwood and Madrone. Pine and Live Oak can be found here as well, which are known to establish mycorrhizal associations with fungi which produce some of the most sought after mushrooms, Chanterelles and Porcini. Species List Below is a list of the species that we collected: Amanita gemmata Amanita muscaria Amanita novinupta Amanita velosa Amanita vernicoccora Annulohypoxylon thouarsianum Chlorophyllum brunneum Coltricia cinnamomea Coprinus sterquilinus Craterellus cinereus Ganoderma brownii Hygrocybe sp. Hypholoma fasciculare Inocybe sororia Tremella betulina Pluteus sp. Russula sp. Stereum hirsutum Suillus sp. Trametes versicolor Cass Fuentes FFSC Minister of Local Forays

... and TONS of mushrooms popping up all over! Herecium coralloides  (November 2014). Photo by Cassandra Fuentes Some of the highlights were beautiful clumps of Oysters, fresh Lion's Mane, Dyer’s Polypore, carpets of Mycenas, an impressive troop of Jack O’Lanterns, and ominously glowing Death Caps. Below is a partial list of species found; there were various Agaricus, possible Agrocybes, and LBM’s that weren't included (among others). Henry Cowell Habitat Walk Species List - 11.22.14 Agaricus benesii (red staining Agaricus group) Agaricus xanthodermus (phenol smelling Agaricus group) Amanita phalloides Amanita vaginata (group - Grisettes) Annulohypoxylon thouarsianum Aricularia aricula Astraeus hygrometricus Coprinus sterquilinus Cortinarius sp Ganoderma applanatum (group) Gomphidius oregonensis Gymnopus dryophilus Gymnopus quercophilus Herecium coralloides Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca Hypholoma fasciculare Lactarius rubrilacteus Lycoperdon perlatum Marasmius calhouniae Mycena capillaripes Mycena haematopus Mycena pura Omphalotus olivascens Phaeolus schwenitzi Phyllotoposis nidulans Pleurotus ostreatus Pluteus cervinus Ramaria sp Russula brevipes Russula cerolens Russula silvicola (group) Stereum hirsutum Suillus cearulesencse Suillus fusctotementosus Trametes versicolor Tremella aleuria Xerocomellus chrysenteron (and/or Xerocomellus truncates) Xerocomellus zelleri Xylaria hypoxylon Editor's note: Photos from this trip were originally posted on Google+, which was deprecated for personal use in 2019. If you have photos from this trip shared publicly elsewhere, feel free to let us know!

Craterellus cornucopioides . © Ron Lawrence (from mushroomobserver.org) Although there was frost on the ground, the weather was beautiful and the Black Trumpets were virtually everywhere! Everyone who attended went home with some Craterellus cornucopioides . Also spotted were beautiful Waxy Caps ( Hygrocybe flavescens and coccinea ), various Ramarias , Black Elfin Saddles ( Helvella dryophila group ), and Gyromitras ( infula ?), to name just a few. Hygrocybe (not from this foray). Photo by Hugh Smith A big thanks to the all the great folks who participated! - Cass Fuentes Minister of Local Forays Editor's note: The link to additional photos from this foray was broken, so the link was removed from this post. If you have an alternative link, feel free to let us know!

Antrodia sp.  (a small, large-pored species on Santa Cruz Mtn. manzanita). © Christian Schwarz I chose this time of the year because the fall mushroom assemblage is rapidly transitioning into the winter assemblage, briefly bumping up easily-seen diversity during the period of overlap. Hunting had to be spread out over 4 days (eleven hours), but I’m quite sure that all the mushrooms I encountered could have been found on either the 18th or the 21st. I ended up with 270 species (not all identified to species, but recognizable RTUs). To find out what was found in Santa Cruz County on that day in 2014, visit my post on Tumblr: A Pseudo-Big Day in Santa Cruz , Notes of a Mycophile

For the forager/gatherers in the group, I've come across huge patches of stinging nettles in gullies and along streams. Its not quite chanterelles and black trumpets, but none too shabby. Miners lettuce is also in abundance and still moving towards peak.

On Hwy 50 - South Fork American River - a friend with a cabin along the Hwy near Sierra at Tahoe told me they had no rain since a weekend in June. Apparently the storm on the ridge top where Wright's lake is located was an exception. A ranger at the Stanislaus Ranger Office on Hwy 108 said they also had heavy rain the same weekend of June and nothing since. The Sawmill area had a heavy deluge 2 weekends ago - streets had minor flooding. The ground was very wet in the areas I checked around sawmill. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with good Bolete spots there - so no luck for me. Markleeville also had a deluge from the same storms that hit the Sawmill. The State Park adjacent to Grover Hot Springs had only sprinkles - only a few miles up the canyon from Markleeville! The Leavitt Meadows campground host - Hwy 108- told me they were hard hit by the same storm system. Unfortunately the FS road into Leavitt Meadow was locked - smoke from the Rim Fire was appalling that day, so I didn't try to get around it. East side of the Sierras was soaked in spots while the western slopes look like they have been mostly dry since June - the exception - some western ridge tops have gotten an Occasional thunderstorm. Rim Fire smoke was extremely variable last weekend. It completely depended on wind direction. I camped Saturday night next to Sonora Pass and could not see the mountains or breathe! I would have driven straight home but I was exhausted. In the morning, it was all blue skies. No sign of smoke! Apparently, in the afternoon the winds pushed the smoke up to the ridge tops. At night the winds descended and took the smoke back to lower elevations. Sawmill is wet - good luck at Echo this weekend! Mark Gillespie

Although little rain had yet blessed the Sierras, over 35 species were found as we sought out moisture-hoarding locales. Several intrepid participants found enough boletes to fill their dehydrators, and, to many attendees’ delight, Ganoderma tsugae (reishi) were numerous and fresh. A special thank-you to our California Alpine Club hosts, Lee Yamada and Phyllis Cole. A very special thank-you to the following who held up the sky by providing substantial kitchen support throughout the weekend: Friday dinner: Jan Immer’s amazing enchiladas, beans and calabicitas complemented by Sandi Smith’s baked bean appetizer and Margaret Carpenter’s Ensalada Mexicana; Saturday breakfast: Hope and Milan Jukl’s awesome breakfast burrito bar; Saturday lunch: Lisa Leung, Sonata Chan and Margaret’s sandwich bar; Saturday dinner: Gene West’s porcini pasta dinner complemented by Sandi Smith’s brie appetizer and Vernetta McGuire’s Caesar salad; Sunday breakfast: Kitty Elvin and Sue Labiste’s bodacious bagel buffet; With a strong supporting cast of all mentioned above and Richard Rammer, Richard Lyness and Monise Sheehan. Thank you all! Wendy Wells Minister of Long Distance Forays

After getting rained out on this year's annual Eldorado camping foray, Phil and I decided to return several weeks later based on reports from a friend of good hunting. We drove up Friday evening, June 5, arriving at the campground about 10:30 PM. First things first, we each had a beer. Then we made a minimal camp. We decided that since we could see the moon through the clouds that it wouldn’t rain and didn’t set up the tent. Phil set out his tarp and sleeping bag at the base of a large pine. I set my gear down in the open. On a trip to the restroom I found three Boletus edulis with my flashlight! We both took this as a good sign and planned on checking the campground in the morning. Before dawn I awoke to a clear sky and stars. Not long after, with the first sounds of morning, birdsong greeting us, the day began. With daylight we had coffee and sweet rolls and headed for the burn. Forest at Kings Fire (2015). Photo by Yevgeny Nyden Burns, whether controlled burns or forest fires, are good places to hunt morels in the Sierra Nevada. This was a controlled burn from the previous year. Arriving at the burn, Phil recommended a road I was unfamiliar with, that ran along the ridge above the burn. The road I knew was a few hundred yards below the ridge.This road was more like a stream bed than a road. The surface was “gravel” composed of 3-6” rocks. The lower road was earthen and smoother. With the burn bounded by the two roads we had good reference points for knowing where we were in relation to the truck. We would hunt up and down the slope and move down the road, driving the truck up a few hundred yards at a time. At the first likely spot we looked, we found a few fresh morels in what I call bear clover (not sure of the species) a habitat where neither of us had previously found any fungi. Encouraged, we kept moving up the ridge, stopping, checking, and collecting a few here and there. We found good habitat after a couple of hours and collected several pounds of morels each. At about 11:30 AM we broke for lunch. Phil had those obnoxious sardines in hot sauce, cheese, pickles, and potato chips. “Have you had the fat free chips?”, he asked. “Try some, they’re really good”. I did, not bad. I had my usual chub of salami, cheese, bread and some fruit. Of course both of us had beer. While we had lunch we observed the skyline and Phil noticed a coolness in the air that presaged a storm. Since we had heard the weather prediction, thunderstorms starting late Saturday for the weekend we were not surprised and agreed to get off that road before the rain started. After lunch we went back for more morels. At one point Phil chose to go further down the slope. Starting to tire, I decided to head back up slope to the truck. As I went, I intentionally drifted east or to my right thinking to search areas we hadn’t been in before I got to the road. I expected to come out on the road above the truck and just walked down to the truck. When I got to the ridge there was the road and a nice patch of morels which I picked. I then started down the road to the truck but quickly realized that I was on a different road than the ridge road the truck was on. This road led down between two ridges. “How did this happen?”, I asked myself. As I had worked my way up the hill I kept the ridge in sight and felt that I was still below the ridge road. What I did not know was that the ridge road ended a short distance from the truck and I had gone past that point before reaching the ridge. The road I was on was on the next ridge over. It was then about 2PM and I wasn’t worried about time to find my way back yet. Thinking to retrace my path, I returned to the last morel patch and tried to figure which way led back the way I had come. I realized that I had gotten turned around and no longer knew which way to go. Have you ever walked down a trail you know, searching for mushrooms you had missed? What was different? Your perspective? So was mine, I could not recognize the ground I covered from a different direction. I was lost. In the hope that I was wrong, I started up the ridge road I was on. I thought that if I was on the right road I’d get to the truck in a few minutes. Five minutes became ten, then fifteen, at which point I turned around and started back to the morel patch. By this time I was fatigued and not thinking clearly. I had gone out wearing just a tee shirt and jeans, leaving my fanny pack with emergency supplies in the truck. I had no food and no water. As I walked, and I walk at a fast pace, I noticed that my hands were turning blue. I assumed that it was from oxygen deprivation, since the day was still warm and I was not chilled, and I stopped to catch my breath. After that I would walk for 24-40 paces, stop, and breath ten times and resume walking. When I got back to the morel patch reference pointI spent about fifteen more minutes frantically trying to figure which way to go. As I tried to hike through the woods, off road I got light headed and dizzy, my legs cramping. I returned to the road and decided on the direction that led out to North-South Road and headed down it. After what seemed to be a couple of miles, I decided that I had gone too far and was going in the wrong direction. I turned around thinking that I should have followed one of the first rules when lost, stay put . I wanted to get back to the last morel patch because I knew it was within a few hundred yards of the truck and Phil would at some point honk the horn on the truck and I could follow the sound back. Then it started raining. Meanwhile Phil was wondering where I was since we had agreed to get out before the rain started. After I had left him he hunted down the slope and back up. When he got to the truck and I wasn’t there he just figured that I was still hunting elsewhere so he went back out again. Returning the second time and finding that I still wasn’t there he got concerned. He started honking the horn and calling out to me. When he got no response he became worried that I might be hurt and unable to respond. He then searched the slope we had been hunting, up and down, side to side. Since I had not gotten lost in the twelve years we’ve hunted together, he held firm in his mind, “Henry doesn’t get lost” . So the only other explanation for my absence was that I was hurt. When it started raining he knew that something must be wrong and he got his rain gear on and hiked out to North-South Road, where some horsemen were camped. This was because I had the truck keys and had not given him a duplicate since we were not locking the truck. He explained the situation to them and one of them gave him a ride to the nearest phone at the campground to call for help. Phil started by calling 911, but they could not connect him to the ranger search and rescue team. He finally got the search and rescue phone number and called direct. The effort to find me, beyond Phil’s, had begun. It was a frustratingly slow start for Phil as it took over an hour to get anyone else into the woods to search. He and two sheriff’s deputies finally got back out to where the truck was and re-searched the slope we had been hunting on. By then it was 5:30PM and Phil was tiring from all of the hiking he had done that day but he still moved up and down the slope easier and faster than the two deputies half his age. With darkness approaching, the deputies call off the search in the woods and explained to Phil that they would drive the roads with lights and sirens on to give me something to hone in on. At this point Phil said, “Aren’t you going to keep looking? Give me a light and I will.” “No. We don’t need two missing persons.” “But I’m telling you, Henry doesn’t get lost. He must be hurt and down in this rain he won’t survive the night.” “We’re going to drive the roads. You stay with the truck in case he shows up.” “What are you going to do about me?”, Phil asked. “Can’t you sleep in the back of the truck?” “No, it’s wet and full of gear.” When the rain started I knew that I had to make a shelter and hope that a rescue effort would start soon. I needed shelter from the rain and the cold of night. I chose a cedar tree to build a lean-to against. I chose the cedar because of its thick canopy, hoping it would help shed the rain. I started building the lean-to with eight foot branches about 3 inches in diameter. I leaned three main poles against the tree and started cutting green boughs from other trees to layer over the poles. I then added pine duff and more boughs. Then two of the poles collapsed and all I had was a pile of debris. I fished out the poles, moved the boughs and duff out of the way and started over. I made the second attempt a bit smaller than the first, but it too collapsed. At that point, I remembered that for heat retention, smaller is better . My third attempt to build a lean-to was small , the poles only touching the tree about three feet up. Just enough so that sitting with my back to the tree I had just enough room. This time it worked. I piled and gathered and piled until at most all I could see when looking out was a few specks of daylight. I left one side open so I could get in and out. One side kept collapsing which let the breeze flow through – finally though it stabilized. It helped to drape green branches over the doorway to reduce airflow. By then I was soaked to the skin and my activity and adrenaline were not enough to keep me warm so I stuffed my T-shirt with pine needles for insulation . Around 4PM I reached the point of exhaustion and chill that I could not work on my lean-to any longer, so I crawled in to wait. After a while I started thinking, “There’s still lots of daylight, the rain is letting up, I could walk for ½ hour trying to get back, and if not, return to the shelter.” I crawled out of my shelter, picked up my basket and started walking. I reached a dirt bike road going up a short distance from my shelter and started up it. My legs protested with trembling and cramps. My head spun. “You idiot, get back to your shelter.” I did. Sitting in my little lean-to, I had a lot of time to think over all of the things I could or should have done. The first and most obvious was that I should have worn my fanny pack. Had I done so, I would have been warm and dry in my shelter rather than cold and soaked to the skin. Being tired, I should have just gone to the truck instead of hunting more. As anyone who knows me is aware I wear a bandana to keep the sweat out of my eyes. I took it off and squeezed as much water out of it as I could. I then retied it in triangular fashion over my head to help retain some body heat. A short while later I reached up and felt it, it was dry! If you are cold, cover your head . You lose a lot of body heat out the top of your head and a hat will help retain it . I wondered what Phil was thinking and doing. I hoped he’d realized I was lost by this time and had gone for help. I shivered and rubbed my arms, stuffed my shirt with more pine needles and waited for dark. A while before dark I did something I hadn’t done in years. I said a prayer. This was different though. I prayed to my mother who had died just over two weeks ago on May 20. I prayed to her because at her funeral service, Father Mike urged us to when we were in a time of need. It was short and simple, “Ma, please send someone to find your son”. With darkness I started the long wait for the return of daylight. After calling for search and rescue, Phil called home to have his wife Margaret pass the word that I was missing to Marje, my wife. Marje was spending her afternoon shopping. About the time it started raining on me she started feeling uneasy. At 4PM a voice inside said “Go home, now!”. So she did. Since Phil or I hadn’t called to say we’d be back in time for dinner, Marge made dinner plans with a friend. Then Margaret called with the news that I was missing. Marge’s concern was the same as Phil’s. “Henry doesn’t get lost, so he must be hurt.” Two Eldorado Park Rangers arrived on the scene and following directions headed to where my truck was. Whether the directions were inaccurate or in the darkness they missed the second road to the right I don’t know. They wound up taking the third road right. Sitting shivering, thinking, fearing the night and hypothermia, I heard the sound of a motor vehicle. Turning toward the sound I saw headlights and spotlights round a bend in the road. I was instantly out of the shelter shouting and whistling to get their attention. The vehicle started down a side road away from me when I heard a woman’s voice say, “Where are you?”. I was thinking, “Come up the road not down.”, but all I could shout was “Up, up, up.” They understood and drove up to where I was. I had been found. Getting out of the vehicle someone noticed my lean-to and said, “Built yourself a shelter, smart move.” At that point I was untucking my shirt and dumping out the pine needles. I must have been a sight. “What are the pine needles for?” “Insulation.” “Another smart move.” They made room for me in the truck, gave me the front passenger seat and cranked up the heat. The myth? Henry doesn’t get lost; dispelled. Henry got lost. Now read Phil's account of this day from a companion's point of view .

I just wanted to let you all know that it is my opinion that the right decision was made to cancel Albion II. All of the "usual" places were dry, dry, dry and essentially devoid of fungi. We all sought out the deepest canyons that never saw the sun to find damp spots to collect. Even then, things were sparse. With a lot of people gathering and spending the time, we had plenty of diversity and things to discuss. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the excellent mycologists present to continue my education. It was a good call to bring this subject up for a vote, Wendy! I agree that our group would have been disappointed.

If you are unaware of this company, Daniel leads multiple mycological eco-tours to many areas of the world. Check out his website at mushroaming.com . This summer was the first time he organized a trip to his homeland, Munich, Germany. Daniel's family owns a 300+ year old farmhouse (Severenhaus) in St. Johann, a small town in the beautiful Tyrolean Alps a short drive from Munich. Growing up, he spent a lot of time there with his family and developed his interest and knowledge about mushrooms in the spruce and beech forests of the area. After meeting up with the group in Munich and doing some great sightseeing in the ancient capital of Bavaria, we loaded up the rental van and drove to St. Johann through the picturesque Tyrolean Alps. The area is well known for its many ski areas and unique wooden architecture. Our destination was Severenhaus where we were most comfortably housed. A unique feature of this very old but very sturdy building was the low doorways. The bottom of the heavy beams forming the top of the doorway was right at the middle of my forehead, and I’m not a tall person. Needless to say, there were a number of encounters with those most solid beams, especially for the taller people in the group. The Severenhaus was located outside of town at the base of the Niederkaiser, a low limestone mountain range in the shadow of the much taller and more rugged Wilderkaiser range. Of course, as soon as we unloaded our gear, we set off behind the house on our first little mushroom foray. Unfortunately, the area had just experience record high temperatures for a while before we arrived so conditions were pretty dry and few mushrooms were found. Mostly, we found some small Marasmius species. Chanterelles in the Viktualien market in Munich (2015) The next day, however, we drove to an area nearby where there were extensive sphagnum moss beds and notably more moisture. We hit the jackpot there filling our baskets with the small European chanterelles. A “big” one was maybe and inch and a half across, many being smaller. They were certainly tasty, though! Since we ate most of our meals at Severenhaus, we had them fixed in many different dishes. On those occasions when we sampled the very tasty local restaurant cuisine, there were always chanterelle dishes on the menu. They were also found in many of the local open-air markets. Dried boletes in the Viktualien market in Munich (2015) Over the next week, we alternated sight-seeing and collecting forays to various regions in the area. One day we went to Salzburg and visited Mozart’s place of birth as well as the imposing castle high on the central hill. After reaching St. Johann, we had much cooler and rainy weather which was great for the Dried boletes in the Viktualien market in Munich. We did much better towards the end of the trip and were able to put together a species list of nearly 100 species. I was very surprised to find that I was able to not only recognize the mushroom genera but also many species. Daniel had a number of field guides for the area but they were all in German. With Daniel translating and the color photographs for all the mushrooms, we were able to positively identify nearly everything we found. Daniel Winkler with a cluster of Lyophyllum decastes (fried chicken mushrooms) The trip was over much sooner than we’d have liked but we went away having seen the incredibly beautiful scenery of the area, experienced some great habitats and mushroom fruitings, had some long and exhilarating hikes in the steep local mountains, ate some delicious meals, both at restaurants and the Severenhaus, and of course, sampled quite a few of the numerous local beers. I even took the opportunity to visit the world’s oldest continuously operating brewery (Weihenstephan, brewing since 1040!) in Freising, about an hour train ride outside of Munich. I’d like to add that this trip with Daniel was very well organized, relaxed but efficient and thoroughly enjoyable. The group was friendly and of varied and interesting backgrounds. It was a real pleasure to be able to share the Winkler family house in Austria and experience the comfortable feeling of being in a home instead of a hotel. If you have a chance to join Daniel on one of his trips, I highly recommend going!

The habitat walk was geared towards beginners and those wanting to brush up on their skills. Our focus was on identifying trees and related habitat, followed by a supporting discussion on the mushrooms one could find there and when they might be found. As is often the case with these events, a few "tips" or inside "suggestions" were given out as we moved through the woods (i.e. "last year someone found Butter Boletes under that tree…). It pays to be involved ;). The group traversed one of the main trails through MF from the bus stop entrance to the water tanks for two hours discussing trees, fruiting patterns, oddities and whatever else came up. For an event prior to significant rains it was highly interactive and informative, with a few questions even challenging the seasoned guides. Good group, good weather, good time. Mushrooms were not expected being so early in the season and even with recent rains predictions were correct. The few macrofungi found were specimens of "Dead Man's Foot" (Pisolithus arrhizus) and "Dyer's polypore" (Phaeolus schweinitzii). With the recent rains and conditions in general there are high hopes for a wet Fall and consequently fruitful mushroom season. Currently there are no local forays planned for October, but keep an eye on the FFSC calendar and, of course, the weather. One more significant storm and we will be back out in the woods searching for the first flush of Fall mushrooms… Cassandra Fuentes - Minister of Local Forays Adam Ryszka - Along for the Ride