Oh, the unpredictable nature of the weather. November is supposed to be cool and wet. Perfect for mushroom hunting, right? Well, the end of this November has turned out snowy and downright cold - more appropriate for frost than fungus. Fortunately the cold weather did not deter the hearty souls who joined us at Snowden Forest for a hike and mushroom hunt last Sunday.
Though it didn't feel mushrooming weather we still managed to find quite a few varieties. As one of our hikers said, once your eye gets trained you start to spot them everywhere. We saw some bright yellow witch's butter,
a type of false morel,
a coral mushroom
and even a nice fat chanterelle!
But, I think my favourite was this diminutive specimen of bird's nest mushroom.
It was only a few millimetres wide and filled with lots of tiny "eggs" (actually spores packets). The word "mushroom" is hardly adequate to describe the variety and diversity of species in the Fungi family. What too often overlooked treasures of the forest they are. And what fun to go out and spot them with our own eyes.
Mushroom hunting was not the only fun we had. The trail itself was quite lovely, too. We hiked along Lost Lake and then followed a bike trail up a high ridge. From the top we could see Lost Lake below and mountains beyond, and were able to enjoy the sunny skies and amazingly crisp, warm light.
The cold weather lent a magical air to the whole forest, with the frost, rime, and snow glistening in the late afternoon sun. By the time we had returned to the parking lot we were tired out from two hour walk, but I for one was reluctant to leave such a beautiful time and place.
(Thanks to Mark Wunsch for the wonderful photos)
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