Hugh Erle Smith
Photographer
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Favorite Forays

Northern Sierra Report, September 23, 2009

intro | mushrooms

Last Sunday (9/20) I bought a new van that seats 12.

Of course, if you put 12 in it, there wouldn't be any room for, well, you know... mushrooms.

So if you take the back seat out (that holds four), and throw it away...

Anyway, I thought I'd try it out on a good long drive, y'know, see how it passes, corners, skids and rolls over, so Wednesday I drove up to Bassetts and Yuba Pass. I've been anxious to get up to the Sierras with all of those reports coming in. So I told my boss I quit my job again the night before and headed for the Pass at 6:30 on Wednesday.

This will be a short letter because I'm trying to get my job back, but I wanted to let you know what I found above 5900 feet. All mushrooms listed here were fresh and in excellent condition.

Mummified mushrooms consisted of only a few Conchs and one type of Russula.

Sulphur Tuft
Sulphur Shelf
Boletus pinophilus
White Chanterelle
1 1/2 inch Suilluses under Birch (or Aspen, in a swamp)
Russula xerampelina
Russula sanguines (?)
Russula, white
Large Polypore in the ground (some kind of squamosus?)
I should know this one.
Marasmius
Cortinarius (2 kinds)
Pholiota
Lactarius deliciosus 
At least 30 Snow Plants, just emerging in a tight group
One large Black Bear, afraid of me. No photo.

Please excuse the poor photography. I have found it difficult to use my digital SLR since I found this Instamatic Point and Shoot.