Sauntering the Skykomish

Mushroom hunters and snowshoers find peace at a slower pace

By Ellen Hiatt

“I don’t like either the word [hike] or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains, not ‘hike’!” – John Muir

If nature is your place of communion, then the Upper Skykomish Valley is a cathedral. John Muir knew the value of slowing down, of appreciating the glory around you, when in the mountains. The very word “saunter” has its roots in pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

For the Native American tribes whose spiritual and physical lives were sustained by the land, from the ocean to the mountains, the high mountain land of the Skykomish region was a summer garden for hunting and berry gathering. In the fall, today’s mushroom hunters seek the bounty found on the forest floor and clinging to the decay of a maple or an oak.

In the winter, it’s become a destination for thrill seekers, flying down mountainsides on skis and snowboards, and strapping on snowshoes or spikes to traverse snow-covered trails.

Anthony Vega sees them all. As the owner and lead guide of Skykomish Outfitters, he’s hauling hikers off the Pacific Crest Trail into town for a respite, or gearing up to rev the engines on ATVs into Reiter Foothills for spectacular views across snow covered peaks.

Vega can introduce a newcomer to cross country skiing, or show them snowshoeing on a flat, half-acre practice track, bring them up into the mountains for a half day tour, or rent them snowshoes and give them directions to the best trail. For his own personal enjoyment, Vega doesn’t set his sights on elevation, he prefers to snowshoe alongside the river and “check out the fish” in the Foss, Tye and Beckler tributaires to the Skykomish.

“It’s wonderful. It’s in the woods… it’s peaceful… it’s all white… the river is running through it. The rocks in the river are capped with snow… the beauty and serenity of it, the quiet…” Vega’s words fade as though he’s on that snow-covered trail already, hearing the gurgle of the East Fork Foss River, watching the branches of the fir trees, weighted with snow, dipping their needles into the water. After the fall rains begin and before the snows come, colleagues Jim Knight and Milan Stefanac, a retired paramedic and anesthesiologist respectively, are pairing up to hunt mushrooms. Mushroom hunters would rather die, it seems, than tell you their best hunting grounds. But they will give you some tips.

“At the end of summer, after a good rain, and then another light rain, the chanterelles bloom. They will continue to bloom for a month,” Knight said. “I always like to get out early and go looking and if there’s none and it’s just a nice day in the woods, that’s OK.”

Some good places around here: Heybrook Ridge, all around the forests of Index, Lake Margaret behind Duvall, the Sultan Basin – all are excellent locations to find chanterelles, shared Knight. Morels and oyster mushrooms come out in the spring, as well.

The Bolt Creek fire, though, covering more than 13,000 acres near Index, stymied this season’s mushroom hunting efforts. But look out for next season.

“Avid mushroom hunters will tell you that fire is essential for finding morels. These fungi, distinguishable for their dark, honeycomb-like caps, pop out of the ground by the bushel in spring after a large wildfire,” wrote Michelle Ma in a University of Washington blog post (tinyurl.com/ mr3sz2hd). Indeed, researchers in Yosemite revealed it’s true.

“I have actually been able to grow them on my property where I have a fire ring,” said Sultan pharmacist and local mycologist Greg Hovander. “I planted some morels there one spring. The following year I had morels grow up on my own property in the Skykomish Valley here in Sultan.” For the best findings, you have to get them right away after the burn. In the years that follow, he said, “they might not be so plentiful.”

Morels, he said, like different habitats, including old orchards, “civilized places like my home,” and other places where the soil has been disturbed. “Some morels like the willows and the trees that grow along streams and the mountains and in rural areas. Others prefer conifers,” he said. “The conifer lovers, I found, usually like pine the best.” This spring, look to the stream banks where the Bolt Creek fire passed through.

Hovander will also help you with free identification of your wild mushrooms if you stop by his pharmacy, Sultan Pharmacy and Natural Care — the only pharmacy around with a mushroom expert on staff! “It’s only right to help people medicinally as well as nutritionally and to do it safely,” he said. He even offers guided mushroom hunting walks, followed by identification and a gourmet meal with the mushrooms they find. Space is limited to 16 people. Call the pharmacy at (360) 793-8813 to sign up.

Snowshoeing and mushroom hunting have something in common: you might get your heart pumping climbing elevation, but you’re not in a hurry. You’re there to take in the sharp and earthy smells of the forest, hear the crunch of pine needles or crusted snow beneath you, and look with your soul as much as your eyes.

“It’s so good for us,” Stefanac, who’s also a botanist, shared. “It’s rejuvenating, and forces you to slow down and get close to nature which you don’t really do much of these days. It gets you in a different plane of mind and spirit. I think it’s really good for us. Plus, you get the benefits of a meal that’s healthy for us.”

So next fall, hike into the mountains where there are remaining stands of old growth forest, gazing under ferns and moss on the sunny side of the slope. The chanterelles hide under the canopy of the ferns, near hardwood trees like beech and oak, or under conifers or hemlock.

Stefanac and Knight look for lobster mushrooms, their red caps standing out from the forest floor, coral mushrooms that resemble a cauliflower, and in the spring, morels. They don’t hunt for ones they’re not familiar with and know without a doubt are safe to eat.

Stefanac shares what he said was the best mushroom hunting advice he ever received: find a local mycology group. They’ll take you out on hikes and teach you how to find mushrooms safely.

As for snowshoeing, this is the season, and your opportunity to get in on the fun is ridiculously affordable. The U.S. Forest Service will provide the snowshoes along with the lesson. Learn all about winter ecology while venturing out into the Mt. BakerSnoqualmie National Forest. A small donation is requested. Make your reservations by calling (360) 677-2414. Weekends from January through March, take a 2.5-hour tour and learn about Stevens Pass history, the ecosystem, and wildlife.

Vega’s Skykomish Outfitters will also take you on a guided hike, pointing out the flora and fauna, and identifying mushrooms with you.

There are so many ways to appreciate the many gifts of the Skykomish that you’ll want to return every season. Come back in December with the family and find a special Christmas tree. The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Skykomish Ranger District can issue you a tree permit (tinyurl.com/4zbrvh73). If you stop in at the station (74920 Stevens Pass Hwy) or the Sky Valley Chamber & Visitor Center (320 Main St., Sultan), you can pick up your permit and get some good advice on what rules to follow for both cutting a tree and harvesting mushrooms, or anything else for that matter.

After all this sauntering the Skykomish, you won’t want to leave. Why would you?

Pull into Skykomish, find the LouSkis Deli off the highway, or turn the corner into town. There, at the Cascadia Inn , breakfast and lunch are served Friday through Tuesday. Get yourself a room in the historic 14-room hotel, pull a chair up to the dining room table, and watch the trains rumble by. It’s a good day to be alive in Skykomish.