easternWA

After picking my first Matsi's, I camped in my camper-van, then drove home the next day. After being immersed in that smell for 24+ hours, I didn't have much of an appetite for it. The ones I've dehydrated are much more palatable when rehydrated. Two mushrooms I'd really like to find but never have are the cauliflower and the lobster.

How did it go? I went by there on Sunday (Apr. 28) and was thinking about stopping for a look. But when I was checking out the area, I noticed that most of the burn in the National Forest was too high for this early in the season and I was running out of time, so I didn't stop. After I came back, I looked at the maps again and I noticed that the North end of the burn has some valleys that are not so high if you come in from the Wenatchee side (more convenient for me anyway). You are definitely not too late but it may still be early to check around the Blewit Pass area. Blewit is good for morels even in non burn years.

If you don't already know this, the Russula genus is pretty easy to identify because the stalk will break clean like a piece of chalk if you snap it in half.

There was also a big fire out by Grand Coulee last year, but that's pretty dry desolate country around there. There may be pockets of forest worth checking or the bunchgrass steppe may surprise me.

Wow, that's early for Coer d'Alene.

I've found morels as early as April 2 in Eastern WA and we've had a very warm Spring so far, so it's possible.

I've been looking at maps of the big fires near Cle Ellum. It's too far away to go there unless there's a chance of finding anything and it's too early for that. But I can try to figure out how I'm going to try to get into the area.

Howdy.

Welcome sol37!

You gonna hit the Cle Elum area? I'm thinking it may be worth driving there from Spokane this year.

Thanks for the heads-up, I'll be careful. It seems like I always find this one when I'm travelling, which is one reason I've never tried it. I found a couple really nice ones in Edmonds just a month ago but we were just about to hit the road, so I didn't keep them.

There are also a few things I have found in the past but have not eaten, for one reason or another. Things I know I can find and would consider trying are: Suillus cavipes (hollow-foot - local old-timers say they're good), Russula xerampelina (shrimp russula), Lactarius deliciosus, Chlorophyllum rachodes (shaggy parasol - formerly Lepiota rachodes) and some Agaricus species. I can reliably ID these. I am also mildly curious about detoxifying Amanita muscaria, as has been discussed here. They are such nice, big, beautiful mushrooms and are fairly common. I guess I need to convince myself that it's safe.

If you can make it up to N. Idaho for the Spokane Mushroom Club's fall foray, you'd probably find chanterelles, and I can always find a morel or two around May/June. Do you travel?

I'd like to find a lobster mushroom in good condition. I've found a soggy old specimen once but not one worth tasting. I'd love to find trumpets some day but I'm not sure if they're found around here or where to look.

I just happened to have a photo of some of the 1st year crop. Here it is: