Mushroom hunting log

Here I document my mushroom hunting efforts, so that I can cherish them and use them to help me find more mushrooms in the future.

Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest, July 2020

The first ever edible wild mushroom identified in front of me.

"I think this a king bolete"

Aspen boletes in an eastern sierra meadow.

Once again we don't have the guts to take mushrooms for supper.

Amidst a caravan of mushroom prophets, we get word of a location with enough morels to feed the city of Mt Shasta.

The prophets warned us that this is not how it always goes.

With king boletes on my mind, I didn't understand the significance of Preston's chanterelle score.

Skunked searching for early season morels.

A trip solidifying springtime morel mushroom hunting as an annual event.

I brought boxes as if we were commercial pickers, but walked out with only a handful of morels after six hours of searching.

I sliced this guy up and tossed each sliver into the fire exclaiming "we could eat this!".

Without a guide, I was too green to confidently identify this as the choice king bolete it was.

This is the face of someone who thinks they found king boletes.

Those are actually slimy ass slippery jacks.

I thought this had to be a king bolete, but could not identify it with the field guide.

It's fun to identify mushrooms, but not when you realize your specimen is not a king bolete.

Same weekend, same spot. A recipe for failure when morel hunting.

The look of disgust at the end of a unsuccessful day searching for king boletes.

(Last updated: 2026-06-11)