LOCALadk Magazine

A walk through the Adirondack woods is invigorating, peaceful, spiritual, and awe inspiring. is is Mother Nature at her finest and most vibrant. e trees continue to grow, seeking contact with sunshine and imbedding their roots in the soil while spreading their branches to protect the flora that quickly spreads in the spring and summer months. Ferns of all types, wildflowers, and lush mosses are thick and colorful as they stretch to frame manmade trails and hug the numerous brooks, streams, ponds, and lakes that make up so much of this six-million-acre park. If you are experienced—and lucky—you may just come across a few clusters of one of the woods' special gis: edible wild mushrooms. Spring and late summer rain and morning dew are perfect fuel for the miracle of mushroom growth and a signal to the seasoned mycologist that the woods are calling. I must emphasize that foraging for edible mushrooms requires knowledge and experience that can take years to develop. Recognizing the mushrooms that are dangerous is more important than knowing which ones are safe. However, even if you simply seek to enjoy the visual beauty and diversity of wild mushrooms (there are thousands of species), then each trip through the woods will be an adventure. One of the down sides to mushroom foraging is that you can become so engrossed in looking for signs of the elusive fungi that you fail to notice other aspects of the woods, waters, and mountains that surround you. Stay close to the trail so that the forest floor doesn't lure you too far from your path and make you lose your way. Yes, the mushrooms can lead you astray. Generations ago our ancestors found their nourishment through hunting and gathering. ey developed a deep understanding of what was edible and what was not. Although we modern humans may have lost that knowledge, foraging can restore one's connection to nature and the seasons. It is food for the soul. As you enter the woods, you will pass trees covered in lichen, wild blackberry and raspberry bushes (brambles), ferns, fragrant evergreens, and beautiful patches of mushrooms in all shapes, sizes, and colors—many appearing overnight. ey seem to grow right before your eyes. Breathe deeply and savor the musty fragrance of the woods, listen to the rushing waters of nearby streams as they dance around polished rocks and discarded branches, and cascade as miniature waterfalls into pools of water. Embrace the sound of scolding chipmunks and birds calling to their mates. is is the environment wherein mushrooms thrive, spores spread, and immature fungi morph into the unique shapes that distinguish each species. For those experienced enough to assess mushroom safety, the Adirondacks can provide spring morels and later in the season, clusters of chanterelles, black trumpets, chicken of the woods, hen of the woods, oyster mushrooms, boletes, pualls, and an occasional lion's mane. Story by Paul Sorgule MUSHROOM FORAGING P E O P L E F O R F O O D I N T H E A D I R O N D A C K S 32 LOCALadk

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