Chanterelles usually grow in a low-growing fern-like mossy cover. But yesterday when the Captain and I went picking, there were only a few in this kind of vegetation.
The salal bushes seemed to get thicker and taller (waist high) and we wanted to get out of that patch and find something more mossy. I took the easiest path through the salal bushes. But wait a minute! This was a place that no human had walked through in a long time. Why am I following a path?
The path of least resistance that I was following was most likely a game trail. Game? It had to be game big enough to clear a path waist high…. Deer? Maybe. But more likely bears. I felt the hair prickle on the back of my neck and thought about getting out of there, when I spotted something champagne coloured – a chanterelle! And then another, and another, and another. They’re not supposed to be growing under the salal like this.
In the photo above, you can see that we had two cans of never used bear spray with us, just in case, but I honestly wasn’t worried about bears once I found my first chanterelle. It was great exercise and fun to find the mushrooms.
As we walked back to the truck, we saw a small deposit of processed berries at the side of the road. Oregon grape and salal berries are prolific in the woods we had just walked through. Apparently a bear had enjoyed this walk while foraging for his breakfast too.
Luckily, it seemed to be a day or two old. I was relieved to see that it was not steaming hot, as these finds sometimes are.
PS Notice the well-placed flower.
September 20, 2019 at 9:54 am
The mushrooms are early this year with this rain. (What’s up with this rain?) You found some great ones. I need to go picking this weekend. 🙂
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September 20, 2019 at 2:51 pm
Yes, you should. They’re out there waiting for you.
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September 20, 2019 at 10:01 am
Whoa. First the worry about picking the wrong mushroom and killing myself (which you wouldn’t do because you are knowledgeable) and then the bear. Does bear spray stop them in time for you to escape?
Fun virtual walk!
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September 20, 2019 at 2:54 pm
The bears would rather eat berries so they mostly run away before we even know they’re there. The mushrooms – you should go with a friend a few times to get to know the mushrooms and after that you’ll be fine. The motto is “If in doubt, throw it out.”
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September 20, 2019 at 10:04 am
You went out without a bear bell????
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September 20, 2019 at 2:54 pm
I keep telling you, I don’t want to attract the bears by ringing the dinner bell.
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September 20, 2019 at 12:34 pm
Looks like a pleasant and productive walk through the woods, Anneli. And a comfort, such as it is, to find the dried scat. The mushrooms are big and beautiful.
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September 20, 2019 at 2:55 pm
LOL! Yes, dried is good!
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September 20, 2019 at 1:38 pm
You daredevil, you. I wouldn’t know an edible mushroom from those processed berries. I’d never make it in the woods.
What a nice find you got there. Any nice recipes to use them in?
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September 20, 2019 at 2:57 pm
I fried them in butter, added salt and pepper and a squirt of lemon. A piece of steak is a nice side dish for the mushrooms. And yes, you would make it in the woods. You just need to go with a friend the first few times.
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September 20, 2019 at 4:01 pm
Steaming hot would be quite scary! Wow those mushrooms are beautiful. My grandmother and her sisters and sisters in law used to pick mushrooms a lot, but I don’t think they thought any of the younger generations how to do it.
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September 20, 2019 at 5:39 pm
Yes, you really need to go with someone who knows what to pick and what not even to touch. I went with friends to start with and it didn’t take long to figure out what to do.
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September 27, 2019 at 12:43 pm
I would be terrified. I’ve always been terrified, even when they used to talk about it or show me their findings. Probably all the mysteries I’ve always read, starting with Nancy Drew, etc. hahaha
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September 27, 2019 at 3:35 pm
I would be happy to take you out to pick some mushrooms and you’d soon become very familiar with the right ones to pick. No more need to be terrified if you’ve gone out with someone who knows their mushrooms.
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September 27, 2019 at 4:54 pm
That would be fun! Too bad I don’t live in mushroom territory.
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September 20, 2019 at 4:38 pm
Lucky find in more ways than one Anneli😏.
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September 20, 2019 at 5:37 pm
Yup. TY, BG.
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September 20, 2019 at 5:47 pm
You are my hero, Anneli! Thanks for the walk!
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September 20, 2019 at 7:29 pm
Awww… that’s so sweet. Thanks, Jill. We enjoyed the chanterelles for the second day in a row. I’ll have to sautee and freeze the rest for another time.
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September 21, 2019 at 2:39 am
Dinner at what time ??? 🙂
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September 21, 2019 at 7:56 am
Several nights in a row with chanterelles, say 630?
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September 21, 2019 at 7:08 am
What a haul…in my ignorance, I need to ask: do you have to have some sort of ‘picking’ permit?
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September 21, 2019 at 8:00 am
No, no picking permit needed. It’s land owned by a logging company with limited access to the public, and in some places it’s crown land, open to the public. I think if hordes of people went picking, they would make more rules, but it’s so much trouble to get all the equipment together and to drive to these places, that few people do it.
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September 21, 2019 at 7:10 am
Good for you doing the mushroom picking, Anneli!
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September 21, 2019 at 8:02 am
It was good exercise (which I really needed)!
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September 21, 2019 at 8:54 am
Maybe I need to go mushroom picking!
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September 21, 2019 at 9:06 am
It’s a great way to get fresh air (and mushrooms).
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September 21, 2019 at 7:26 pm
😀
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September 21, 2019 at 7:18 am
Not a hobby for me. I love my life too much! 😀
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September 21, 2019 at 8:01 am
No real danger. Except maybe falling or twisting an ankle.
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September 21, 2019 at 6:35 pm
If you say so! 😉
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September 21, 2019 at 7:32 pm
I do. -)
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September 21, 2019 at 7:47 am
Wow. What a haul!
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September 21, 2019 at 8:01 am
It was surprisingly good!
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September 21, 2019 at 8:42 am
Mushrooms are the best thing in autumn. Since there are no bears in our forests, picking them is completely safe. Thank you for the nice story.
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September 21, 2019 at 8:44 am
I like the idea of no bears!!!!
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September 21, 2019 at 1:13 pm
In German the pronunciation of bears is quite similar to berries (Bären vs. Beeren) . Therefore it is a joke to say that we have bears too in the woods – black “bears”.
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September 21, 2019 at 1:36 pm
Schwarzbeeren are quite different from schwarze Baeren for sure! You could have a lot of fun with the language.
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September 22, 2019 at 7:15 am
Those chanterelles look beautiful! Here we only find way smaller ones. They taste very good in rice too. Here I only have to be scared of wild boars, they can be dangerous when they have young ones among them.
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September 22, 2019 at 7:48 am
I’ve never even seen a wild boar. Are there many out in the woods where you are? Like as many as we have black bears? Or is it a very rare thing?
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September 22, 2019 at 10:12 am
No, they are not rare, in contrary, they are a pest!
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September 22, 2019 at 10:28 am
Hmm…. I don’t know why I just thought about bacon….
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October 30, 2019 at 5:02 am
So that’s what it’s really like! I just posted a funny (imaginary) one on foraging and so came across this one. Pleased to meet you!
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October 30, 2019 at 4:31 pm
I checked it out and am happy to meet you too.
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