For the last 40 plus years I have been a dedicated mushroom hunter. I suppose there may be better places to look for mushrooms than Island Park, but I don’t know of them. This is where I’ve lived and this is where I go hunting.
Mushrooms need the right circumstances to grow: shade, decaying logs, plenty of rain and mild temperatures. We’ve had all of those lately. For the last 16 days in a row it has been cloudy, rainy and generally perfect conditions for mushrooms.
The snootier mushroom hunter looks for morel mushrooms. They’re rare, the taste is incomparable, they don’t grow just anywhere and they are the holy grail of mushrooms. To say I like them would be an understatement. I never pass them by, of course. But I don’t get tunnel vision and think they’re the only thing worth eating, either.
There are ten to fifteen different types of edible mushrooms in Island Park (probably more than that, but there are at least that many that I’m aware of.) All of them taste good and all of them have their own flavor profile. Some go better in spaghetti, some are good in salads and some are best just fried in a little (or a lot of) butter. But one thing is certain, no matter how you use them, they are all a delightful addition to your diet.
If you would like to go mushroom hunting in Island Park, be sure you go with someone who knows the local ‘shrooms. Some are heavenly and some (that look just like them) are poisonous. So you have to be careful. But if you can find a mentor, and you like mushrooms, within a few short minutes from any campground, you can be in fungus heaven. Bring your gear and we’ll see you in the woods.
Picking huckleberries in the mountain to the east of Henry’s lake, I came upon some mushrooms and remembering some friends several years ago who were avid mushroom pickers, I picked four different types, brought them home , worrying my family that I was going to eat them or drop dead from holding them. I bought a book at the forest service. That was not enough info. to identify them. WHere do I start to become a shroomer. I like mushrooms.
There are hundreds of different mushrooms in Island Park and most are edible (or at least not dangerous.) You need a field guide. There’s a good one at Barnes and Noble. I don’t recall if the title was “mushrooms of Idaho” or of the rocky mountains, or the mountain west or something like that. It is a great guide with extensive color photos. The safest way to get going is find someone at the university who can show you. Or put an ad in the thrifty nickel looking for a tutor. Once you make a trip or two with a mentor, you’re good to go. You don’t know everything, but you know enough to be safe. Idaho is Morel mushroom heaven, and if you’ve had them, you know they’re worth looking for. Good luck finding a mentor. It will increase your joy in your surroundings and give you a peaceful, quiet pursuit in the mountains. What could be better than that?
folk with high assurance in their capacities approach difficult jobs as challenges to be mastered instead of as threats to be evaded.