Are there any mushrooms to collect?

I was having my breakfast when the idea struck me - why not go to the mountain and hunt for some mushrooms? Really, why not? ;)

 

I know the place where I spent a lot of time and the woods look like the mushrooms shouldn't be foreigners there so I made it my destination. About an hour of driving and I unloaded from my car and started walking along the road.

I like hiking there. This is one of my favorite places to escape the Summer heat but usually I am walking along the roads and trails, admiring the aspens and the bright sun, shining through the leaves.

But today I stepped out of the beaten path and entered the woods and not looked back.

 

I intended not to look around but watch at the ground level. First, because this is only an option if one wants to find some mushrooms...

...and second, if one doesn't want to break his neck walking across the dry woods crossing the paths and making the obstructions.

From time to time I crossed the road just to walk deeper into the woods on another side.

You can find a lot of mines in the Central City area, I knew that... But, honestly, I couldn't imagine how many! And walking on the roads you normally don't see most of them. This time I had a completely different experience and found dozens of old mines, mostly just holes in the surface and often not really deep.

Surrounded by tall trees and totally abandoned.

This one still has some construction creating some kind of enter. But it was not really deep. I am just wondering if they were swamped by time or the prospectors did it before leaving?

Just look at this aspen tree...

 

Can you believe all of these started the same way just years ago?

The forest here is not the same when you walk in it... There are aspen trees in some areas and  pine trees in others. There is a grass rag under the aspens and grassless floor covered with needles under the pines...

I made a long arc around the hill and ended up in the open space looking at the valley. Always admired this view and again spent some time just moving my eyes from left to right looking at the mountain ridges far away...

The slopes are blooming! They are colorful and bright with flowers...

But I needed to return back into the woods if I wanted to find any mushrooms, so I crossed the windbreak and walked into the forest again.

Here and there I found some mushrooms but not the type I wanted to collect so I mostly left them untouched.

The aspen part of the forest looked so light and nice...

...with some wild flowers covering the ground and making the woods look just amazing.

Finally I found a nice chanterelles family and... those were coming with me!

Not many but will make a nice dinner ;)

Mushrooms are masters of camouflage and they are never out of tricks on how to hide. They can grow under the rocks as easily as on the surface.

Isn't this one a beauty?

 

The woods looked really potent, but surprisingly not many mushrooms ended up in my bag. Probably this is not the right time for them yet... Or, probably, the weather conditions are not in favor for mushrooms to pop up... But it doesn't apply to the flowers - they were blooming and making the walk a special treat for all senses :)

And, you know what else I learned walking around the woods today? The Summer is almost gone and the Fall is coming. Don't believe me? Look at these yellow leaves around these mushrooms... Aren't they a sign?

 

I didn't find many of the mushrooms and collected just enough for a couple of dinners, but enjoyed walking around and exploring new places in the area I thought I knew well. Just about 3 miles but a lot of fresh air and beautiful views totally worth it ;)

To see the trail on Google Maps click here

Pictures were taken on August 14, 2022.