The Fungus AmongUs

Anyone up for a treasure hunt?

With all the rains we’ve had the past 10 days or so, our chances of finding some cool woodland treasures are pretty good. We have several targets, but especially Hen of the Woods and Lion’s Mane. (I encourage you to google these mushrooms so you can start training your eyes tonight!)

Is it delicious? Can it kill you? Can some of them help the body fight cancer or regenerate nerves? No matter how you look at them, mushrooms are pretty amazing, and can make for great subjects of wildlife photos and a delicious addition to unique home-cooked meals. But eating the wrong one can kill you, and from what I’ve read, it’s a bad way to go.

*****Today, we’ll hope to identify some of the fungus amongus, but please don’t think that going on this hike will make you an expert. If you want to forage for wild foods, I fully encourage you, but you’ve GOT to put in a lot of hours of study, or… you could die. Seriously. You also must be sure to harvest responsibly and sustainably.*****

We’ll take a leisurely stroll up Pine Mountain, hopefully spotting mushrooms the whole way up. No promises though; we could find nothing or we could hit the jackpot! If we are allowed to collect, and you’re feeling adventurous, feel free to bring along a small canvas bag or brown paper bags to carry your delectable edibles home. I will harvest them, but you get to clean them!

Note: We will not touch any mushrooms unless we have a positive I.D. that they are safe. We will not take any mushrooms home unless we are going to eat them, and there are no signs prohibiting collection. Take as many pictures as you want.

I marked this as a D2 since we are LIKELY to go at a slower pace and if we see cool stuff we’ll stop and talk about it. But if we aren’t seeing many ‘shrooms, be sure that you can handle a faster pace and the elevation gain. If you can get up Kennesaw mountain in 30-40 minutes or less with just a few breaks, you should be just fine. If you have to stop at every switchback on KM, this might not be the hike for you. OTOH, it’s a short, easy trail, so you can always just turn back if the gain is too steep.

We'll probably go up to the top to enjoy the view of Lake Allatoona and enjoy our trailsnacks. After we get a chance to take in the beautiful view, we'll head back down the mountain. There is definitely more trail there, so if you have more time I highly recommend it!

I-75 Exit 288, east (right turn if you're headed north) on Main Street, and drive a few blocks. At the end of Main Street turn right, and the West Loop Trailhead access and parking area is on the left.

As usual... if you sign up, please show up. Or else the honeybadger will haunt your dreams.