I have been unbelievably lazy lately! My biking miles? Waaaaay off. I am about 150 miles away from my yearly goal and have less than two months to complete them in. The weather is not cooperating most of the time and most of the time I am very unmotivated and full of excuses.

Hiking is easier to get out on. You don’t have to pump up the tires; just throw on some boots and go. Today the weather was spectacular. It was sunny and warm and the temperatures may have gotten into the 60’s. I wasn’t expecting for it to be this nice when I said I’d go and pick mushrooms this weekend, so it was a very pleasant surprise.

It was Megan, Collin, Jae, me and also Zika. Zika is a dog and he loves running loose in the woods. I also really enjoy being loose in the woods. I don’t think I’d ever do this by myself, going off the trail like that. I just don’t trust my navigational skills that much, not even with a creek within hearing distance. But it’s always so nice to go off into the woods with friends who know what they’re doing and bushwhack my way through the ferns, all the while staring at the ground.

I think we all enjoyed the wild terrain. There were plenty of logs to climb on and over.

And many trail-less hills to tackle. The only trails here are those made by elk and the elk don’t know what the hell they’re doing when they’re out making a trail.

We came across some manmade forest roads.

But mostly we were just meandering through the woods.

We came across ruins of an old log cabin.

And some scary looking uprooted trees.

But mostly we just kept our eyes peeled to the ground, looking for mushrooms.

This time of the year there is no shortage of mushrooms in the woods, here in the Pacific Northwest. The trick is, of course, being able to tell which mushrooms should be picked and which need to be left alone.

Most just look pretty. For example,  I wouldn’t pick this one.

Nor this one. Even though it’s so cute.

This beautiful Chanterelle, however, will be a part of my dinner!

Megan is an expert finder of the Matsutake mushrooms. These are the most expensive mushrooms in the world! How much are these two worth? A lot. In Japan a pound of Matsutates retails for about $1000. Yes, that’s three zeros. In Seattle I’ve seen them go for about $80, which apparently is a bargain. I found one Matsutake today, but it was kinda rotten and not very cinnomony (one characteristic of the Matutake is that is smells like cinnamon), so Megan gave me one of hers. I owe her 5o bucks.

In the end we did not end up finding a whole lot. Maybe the season is now at the tail end. The lobsters that we found were way past their prime. When I got home I dry sauteed them and they were very soggy! From yesterday’s rain, no doubt.

3.3 miles, 573 ft of elevation

YTD Hiking Miles: 103.6