Bigfoot's Friend

It’s finally almost my favorite time of the year! Springtime is coming! As the snow melts and the wilderness comes back to life, it’s time to gear up for my all-time favorite hobby – hunting morel mushrooms! Whether you’re a seasoned forager or a curious hiker, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of uncovering these elusive fungi out in the wilderness. 

Today I’m going to share with you exactly what you’ll need to find basket-loads of morel mushrooms this upcoming season!

1. FORAGING GEAR

Having the correct gear and preparation for your foraging adventures will drastically affect your experience. Here’s what I suggest you bring:

• Nets – Carrying your foraged mushrooms in a netted bag or a basket keeps them from getting broken or squished while you hunt, and it spreads the spores from the mushrooms you’ve picked which helps with regrowth in upcoming seasons!
• Knives – The simplest and cleanest way to forage. Pinching off at the bottom of the stem works as well if you don’t have a good pocket knife or foraging knife.
• Water – Anytime you go into the forest, ever, bring water!
• (These are just the basics, if you’re looking for more information on what you need to bring on an outdoor adventure, check out my blog post on the Top 5 Hiking Necessities!)

2. YOUR BUDDY

Usually, when looking for morels you have to go pretty deep out in the wilderness. With the wilderness, comes lots of wildlife, friend and foe. Bring a friend, or a few, because making your presence known in the forest by talking, playing music, and making noise all help the wild animals to know you’re around and to help avoid unwanted interactions. 

As my husband and I always say; “having four eyes on the ground is always better than two!”

3. A HUNTERS EYE

Unless you’ve spent most of your life in the forest (or if you’re friends with Bigfoot) you are probably unfamiliar with the areas where morels can grow. So I would suggest following some Facebook groups and blogs so that even during the off-season, you can still see lots of morels in all of the different environments where they grow. I know it sounds a little crazy. However, this is what I did to prepare for morel season last year, and it worked! 

Morels tend to blend into their surroundings in most areas, so training your eye to spot a morel in a pile of leaves will help up your game. 

4. KNOWLEDGE AND REFERENCES

It’s important whenever you’re foraging to do plenty of identification research, maybe pick up a field guide or two. Especially when it comes to wild mushrooms, you want to be 100% sure what kind of mushroom you’ve found before any consumption. Morels have a toxic look-a-like aptly named the false morel so be cautious and thorough with your identification process. 

Additionally, morels do tend to grow around Ash, Cottonwood, Oak, and Elm trees– usually dead or dying ones. Familiarize yourself with what these trees look like and when you’re out hunting you’ll find sometimes it’s beneficial to look up before you look down! 

5. A GOOD ATTITUDE

Now that you have everything you need to go out and find some morel mushrooms, get prepared for disappointment… Just kidding. But seriously, don’t be discouraged if you can’t seem to find morels on your first time out looking… or your second, or third. I think my husband and I went out at least a half-dozen times in all different locations before we found our first morel. But, that’s part of the hunt! 

The more time you spend out looking, the more familiar you’ll become with the areas and surroundings where morels tend to grow and the best way to gain this information is through hands-on experience.

So lace up your boots, pack your gear, and get ready to hit the trails!

I would love to hear what your foraging essentials are in the comments below!

Happy foraging!

-Jessica C