Alaska Foray 2014 Report (by Hugh Smith)

What?

That's what most people in Alaska say after you've replied to the question, "What are you doing here in Alaska?"

"We're mushroom hunting."

"What?"

"We're hunting for mushrooms."

"Mushrooms!"

"Yes, for 8 days. We're with the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz."

"What? You're hunting for mushrooms? Fungus Federation?"

"Yes, we came from California to hunt mushrooms."

"What?" 

We landed in Anchorage on a Friday. It was beautiful in Anchorage, like a wonderful Autumn day (August is Fall in Alaska), seventy two degrees, a day to hide in the shade with lots of sun and tall cumulus clouds over every mountain, looking like puffs of volcanic steam arising from so many volcanoes. We settled in and had dinner at The Fancy Moose. We ate outside on the patio and watched the busiest float plane airport in the world, right over our heads and before our eyes. In 20 minutes, from here you can be in the middle of nowhere. Yes, you CAN get there from here. 

Saturday the 23rd was the first day of the Girdwood Fungus Fair. Kate and Betty are the organizers of this Fair, and this is their 7th annual. I know it requires a lot of effort from them and they seem to be holding it together very well. Usually Girdwood is a small town/ski resort but in late summer it is transformed into a different kind of tourist destination. The aerial tram continues to run all summer and fall and the view and the ride to the top can't be beat. Girdwood is very conveniently on the way to Bill and Jeri's Alaska Sports Lodge (or, after King Salmon season, the Great Lodge of the Fungus Federation). The most unusual thing about this fair was we knew so many people. Some were from California, some from Washington. How odd to come this far and know half the lot! David Arora, Steve Trudell, Christian Schwarz, Noah Siegel, Alissa Allen. There were also many I did not know.  

And their species list. I heard there were about 90 species documented by the time we arrived. In 2010 the Kenai Mycological Society (separate from Girdwood) had about 75 species. In August of 2010 our group documented more than 192. In 2011 we added to that list.

And now in 2014... Hardly documented were the Russulas, Lactarius and Cortinarius. Our on-board Wizards Debbie Viess and Phil Carpenter are and always have been completely invaluable to me. When I don't have a name for a mushroom (which is frequent), ask a Wizard. I can't wait to see the list this year. Next time let's have the Fungus Fair at Bill & Jeri's. If we could do a blitz up here, the species list would probably grow exponentially. 

One day we hunted on Skilak (Skee lak) Lake Road. This is always a fantastic place to go. You can spend all day on this one road. Two of my favorite places are on this road.  There's a hidden lake where the mushroom hunting is some of the finest I have ever experienced: mushrooms of every kind. There are steep places, rock outcroppings with dirt and bushes and trees, and flat places for easy walking. If I could only hunt one place, I would probably choose this hidden lake. I can't tell you where it is or what the lake's name is though… it's hidden. 

There is another one of my favorite hunting spots very near this hidden lake. I can't tell you where it is either. I CAN tell you it's near the hidden lake though. There's also a hidden creek where the Salmon come upstream from Skilak Lake through a culvert under the road. This is a monumental climb for a fish, well over a mile, and UP! Bears show up frequently to catch fish here in this shallow hidden stream. You can stand on the road above and watch all of this activity if you're here at the right time... and you're bold enough. I can't tell you where this is either. It's a hidden creek.  Every time I have been to the Kenai Peninsula I have hunted Skilak Lake Road. In 2011, we had one person in our group who was always asking if I had locked the van. The vehicle is generally always locked, since everyone is going different directions and we have an agreed time to  return. But this time, in 2011, a Brown Bear was wandering down the road  (we were in the woods) and the one who always asked about the locks was also on the road. She headed for the van, running around it and trying every door to escape from the bear to safety but, alas, the van was locked. The Bear had no interest though. This is not Yosemite. We all saw him later, wandering down the road. It was most memorable, and a good laugh. For the rest of that trip, it went like this... "Is the van locked?" Hahahahahahahahaha! 

This year we were all out in the woods again in about the same place. I was near Sandi but out of visual range. I heard Sandi say, kind of whispering, "Hugh! Hugh! There's a Bear over here". I said, "There is?" She said, "Yeah, he's right here". I headed over towards where she was (the forest is dense). As I got near I said, "Is he still here?". She said, "Yes!" Sandi sounded terrified. I couldn't believe it. It had been more than a minute and the Bear was still near! I walked over a rise and there was a Bear's head staring at me with all of his teeth showing! I was shocked. I took a couple pictures. I could see it was dead. It was maybe 3 years old. The bear looked as though he was buried in the ground as if he were emerging from hibernation. He had his mouth open and he looked ferocious. One eye had been chewed away and one eye was still staring! It was as if the Bear had a glass eye. Really creepy. After all, we're in the woods in the middle of nowhere! I flicked at one of his ears and pondered how tough the cartilage was. Minutes later some others from our group came around to see. One gave it a kick, flipping it over and saw that it was  connected to a board! 

The Alaska State Fair was happening while we were in the 49th state and we were informed it could be quite the spectacle. The fair was mostly typical of any COUNTY fair. Two things made this event stand out from any other; the vegetables up here have an unusually long growing season. The longest day, June 21st is more than 19 hours. We were there at the end of August so our days were merely more than 13 hours. This place grows vegetables of unimaginable proportions. Largest Cabbage: 138 pounds (They laugh at beach ball size); Largest Carrot: 17 pounds; Pumpkin: 1283 pounds; Zucchini: 52 pounds (no good without Bacon); Rutabaga: 81 pounds (what's a Rutabaga?). But King Boletes? Nope. None entered. Curt Haney should have entered one of his King Boletes. He could probably hold the record at 22 pounds. Anyone have any bigger? There was a section for mushroom displays and a contest for the best. Some were cute and fancy displays with Gnomes and bouquets of mushrooms, etc.. Some displays were named and described. I sure hope no one eats those Pholiotas they were calling Honey Mushrooms because the sign said  they were edible! Even though there was a disclaimer above the displays...

The other part of the fair that was most notable was the Native American section. We spoke to these ancient cultured people quite a bit and one of them was even a storyteller, an official title. It was like speaking to people from another time. One lady was harvesting and selling Chaga, a Birch Conch (Inonotus obliquus) that has many uses. Health, antibiotic, styptic, punk... fascinating! What do these people know? What have we forgotten? Their handmade crafts are delightful with great depth of meaning. Talking to them was like going back to where we were so long ago. Although Eskimo is a general term meaning "Eater of Raw Meat", there are actually many tribes. They do not mind being lumped together as Eskimos, though. These people and their cultures and traditions were definitely the highlight of this fair! 

You may recall there was a huge fire south of Bill and Jeri's this year. By the end of May it was nearly 200,000 acres. The rains finally came though and helped with its demise. The burned area seems to be regenerating at a very nice pace. Funny River Road goes through one edge of the fire zone and the mushroom hunting here was really terrific. It would be so great to be able to go back in May or June. This is supposedly the time that the Morels fruit. Many people who live up here know about only this mushroom but they are passionate. The lady at the fair who harvests Chaga hunts Morels. Many here live off the land but there is a large market and competition for this mushroom and there is a lot of money to be made. Thirteen  dehydrated Morels in the Fred Meyer store were $13.00. (They were perfect, though).

You should see for yourself the diversity, less than three months after the fire! There are Ascomycetes of every sort, Peziza, Geopyxis, Gyromitra and so many others, Pholiota, Lactarius, Russula, Cortinarius,  Leccinum, Clitocybe, Pluteus... they're all here. Alaska is a wonderland of mushrooms!  When it comes to edibles there are many at this time of year. Hedgehogs (Hydnum repandum), Bear's Head (Hericium abietis), Man On Horseback (Tricholoma flavovirens), Shrimp Russula (Russula xerampelina, Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus), Gypsy Mushroom (Cortinarius rozites), Shaggy Mane (Coprinus comatus), King Bolete (Boletus edulis), Matsutake (Tricholoma caligatum, formerly Armillaria caligata)... all of these mushrooms are typical of their genus and species. The Matsutake, however was different. The ones we found here had a blunt stipe. These are unlike what we are familiar with in the Pacific Northwest (or Northern California anyway). Except for that smell. Oo-oo that smell! These may likely have originated from Japan since a current in the ocean, the Japan Current, runs head-on into the Kenai Peninsula. (This warm current is also what keeps the Kenai Peninsula's climate relatively mild). It seems unlikely Matsutake spores from the Pacific Northwest would ride atmospheric currents this far north and especially this far west. The planet's circulatory system doesn't run that way. The Kenai  Peninsula is due North of Hawai'i. Hawai'i is almost 2500 west of the mainland. This is pretty far West. But, I know nothing. We had Matsutake Rice for the Pot Luck though! Sandi found Matsutake in the same spot in 2010, 2011 and now again in 2014. Each time there were 5, but when I took Bill to this secret laughing place near the end of our stay, there were two more coming up and one was a large number one button. We have never found another Matsutake spot up here, but there must be another, somewhere.  Even though there were mushrooms in many of the Pot Luck meals the food was still surprisingly good (!). We had many excellent chefs and I suppose that's why most of the mushrooms were OK, even to me. I got to try several kinds of mushrooms at our Pot Luck dinners and two kinds of fish. I don't think Gorton's Fish Sticks live up here so we no choice but to substitute Alaskan Sea Bass and Silver Salmon. Both of these fish were excellent though! Something must be wrong with my taste buds.

Can I try that again?