The Fungus AmongUs

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.*****

Blanket’s Creek is best known as one of the top mountain biking trails in the Southeast, but hiking is permitted. It’s maintained by SORBA, and you will need to drop $1 in the donation box to help keep the trails in top shape. It’s a GREAT way to spend a dollar!

Because it’s a mountain biking trail, it means bikes have the right of way. And THAT means you will need to be prepared to get out of the way very fast. A collision with a mountain bike hurts A LOT. Trust me.

Blanket’s Creek is also a fairly popular spot for the foraging of wild mushrooms, too. While I am by no means an expert, I’ve successfully identified lion’s mane, oyster mushrooms, turkey tail, cauliflower, American Caesar’s mushroom, 3 types of chanterelles, and others at this location while hiking or biking on the beautiful, well-maintained trails.

We’ll meet in front of the bathrooms (YES, they have REAL bathrooms now) at 10:55ish, so we can begin our hike at 11:00a.m. sharp. (REMEMBER YOUR $1 to cover trail maintenance!)

We’ll start by walking next to the creek to the Mosquito Flats trailhead. On the way, hopefully we’ll find some good photo ops. Next, we’ll take a leisurely stroll through the Mosquito Bite trail and Flats extension. Note-There are a few minimal uphill sections of Mosquito Bite.

I was here 10/9 and found a small lion's mane (the one you see in the picture for this event, and yes, it was delicious) and a few cinnabar chanterelles and a variety of other pretty mushrooms… lots of photo ops and a small possibility of mushrooms to share for those who are curious to taste. I wouldn’t send anyone home with anything I wouldn’t eat. Feel free to bring along a small canvas 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. Take as many pictures as you want.

We’ll probably hike about 3 miles, and most is pretty flat with just a few very minor elevation gains. The pace will be moderate to brisk. The more mushrooms we see, the more moderate the pace.

Take 575 North to Sixes Road.

Turn left

Drive a few miles and look for the Blanket's Creek trail sign, or just follow one of the many SUV's with bikes that you'll see on this road.

Blanket's Creek is on the left; you will need to make a U-Turn to get there if coming from 575.

If you can't go, please remove yourself from the registration.