As the plants of summer are fading away to the roots in the soil, and the leaves of the maples are changing to their beautiful fall colors another group of organisms are emerging out of the soil, the fleshy fungus of Opal Creek.
During most of the year hikers may not even notice mushrooms in Opal Creek, but they are there living quietly in the soil helping the trees and plants to gather nutrients and survive in the thin soils of the steep canyons. When the rains of fall come and the nights grow colder, the mushrooms are triggered into fruiting and a wild profusion of colors and shapes emerge to wow visitors to this primordial old growth forest.
Violet Cortinaruis Yellow Stemmed Mycena
As the fall mushroom workshops were under way this October, a plethora of fungal species were on display for appreciative workshop participants. Participants arrived at the gate with their baskets and field guides in hand. Both of these family friendly workshops encountered everything from choice edible species such as Chantrelles and Lobster mushrooms to species that are used as natural wool and silk dyes such as the Dyers Polypore. Of course there are also the species that are just cool to look at such as the Violet Cortinarius and the yellow stemmed Mycena tooth to just name a couple. Hikers that braved the wet weather were also treated to an unexpected surprise; a terrestrial pacific giant salamander was spotted on the trail taking advantage of the wet weather to move freely across the forest floor.
Special thanks go out to the kitchen staff that not only provided warm drinks to the wet participants arriving at Jawbone after their mushroom forays but also cooked up some of the edibles that were gathered so that everyone could try their finds. Maybe this is why the Mushroom Workshops are a perennial favorite! But never fear, if you did not get a chance to cometo this workshop this fall the mushrooms are still out. If you decide to take anautumn hike in Opal Creek you will undoubtedly encounter many fungal species that will impress and amaze, and you may even end up filling your belly too.
Identifying the many fungi found on the hike into Jawbone.