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Hugh
Erle Smith Favorite Forays MSSF foray at Yuba Pass,
October 21, 2005 When I woke up that morning at 4:00 it was 60 degrees in Yuba City. Should I wear shorts? Should I take a coat? I could only afford to give up one day this weekend so at 4:50 I headed for Yuba Pass. I left home in the dark and I came home in the dark. On the way there, a baby skunk wagged his white tail at me while he stood in the road. I think I may have seen a Ringtail Cat. Of course, there's always Deers. And there was a sign from Indiana on this California road. It had a picture of a single cow (which I took for several) and it said, "Next 1 Miles". I didn't see any cow (that's plural). I arrived at about 6:40 so I headed for the Vista on the other side of the pass for sunrise. It was 35 degrees on the summit. No wind. Chapman Creek Campground was 31 degrees. I was having trouble deciding if I should go to Fort Bragg with the rest of my family (where they've had hardly any rain) or go to the Yuba Pass foray with Norm Andresen. Well, I told Norm that I would do this foray with him so I kept my promise. Wow, am I glad I didn't go to Fort Bragg. They aren't finding anything and we found EVERYTHING! By far the best hunting was right in Chapman Creek Campground. This place needs to be hunted more thoroughly. There is only one thing I would have done differently, for two reasons. I would have started the day on the summit where the sun was, and ended the day in the campground, where it was FREEZING in the morning. The other reason is the campground was so much more productive. It's nice to end the day with a big crescendo. Corals, Ganodermas, Tricholomas, Cantherellus, Russulas, Hygrocybes, Clavariadelphus, Pholiotas, Gyromitra just to name a few. A very few. (Is someone putting together a species list?) There were so many mushrooms! And so many eyes. I couldn't possibly get a picture of everything. Nobody would stand still long enough for me to get to them. I couldn't believe there could be this many species! I couldn't believe there could be this many species! I also created some animated GIFs, which you can view by licking on the titles below. There is a smaller one on the end of the Creatures page. Best seen with your browser set for full screen.
The campfire and dinner were especially fun too. When you have a great crowd, it makes EVERYTHING else great. And Norm and Cecelia sure can cook! They make me think I like mushrooms (I don't). May I have some more? Wow, Shrimp Russulas, White Chanterelles, Man On Horseback. Man, those taste good. Or they would if I liked mushrooms. |
