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Please note, it is legal to forage for mushrooms where we were. It is important to know where it is and is not legal before foraging, in addition to having reliable resources/a knowledgeable guide to teach you which varieties are safe and which are not. Most of the varieties pictured are NOT safe to consume.

Mountain Goat and I are spending some time at her parents’ place in Mendocino County, and for New Year’s Day, after being sworn to secrecy for the location, we were invited to go mushrooming with a friend of hers. Mind you, neither of us enjoys eating mushrooms (for any reason), but we don’t need much coaxing to get outside and get dirty.

Mushrooming is a popular activity this time of year in northern California, as wet weather and darker skies help many varieties of fungi flourish. I’ve always enjoyed taking photos of fungi as I see them, and I find them fascinating, much the way I do with wildflowers.

I selected two lenses for this adventure- my Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 Macro G OSS ii, which I mounted onto my Sony A7R v camera body, and my Sigma DG DN Art 20mm f/1.4 in case I decided to take some wide angle shots. I knew I’d want the zoom for most of my shots. I included my new lens heater, knowing that there were good odds that my lens would fog up along the way, as well as a power bank to keep it functioning. I cursed myself for not having my Peak Design Capture Clip with me, as I knew it would be very handy to be able to put my camera on my belt or somewhere similarly accessible, but my camera messenger bag would have to do.

I packed up my camera, and MG borrowed her mom’s mushrooming bag. The weather promised intermittent rain, so we donned our worn-in rain gear, knowing we’d be getting dirty and going through thick underbrush and fallen trees. I also packed my trekking poles to support my knee in this endeavor, and wore my newish rain boots. Over my rain pants and boots I added my snow gaiters, which I knew would be able to handle the rough terrain better than my rain pants alone.

Her friend came by with two dogs in tow, and we loaded up into her truck and headed to a small pull-out on the side of a country road. MG was familiar with the place, but had never gone mushrooming there (or, really, anywhere).

The Redwoods love them some steep terrain, and this location was no exception. We reached one location where I was told I couldn’t post any photos, as many locals would recognize it. As we made our way along the ups and downs of the trail, we eventually hit a spot that was very steep, and slowly made our way up.

Along the way, I saw and stopped to photograph various mushrooms, knowing the names of none of them. Our friend gave me the names of a few of the ones we saw- pig’s ears, chanterelles, and hedgehogs, which were our target for this trek.

The coastal Redwoods provide a dark, lush, moist environment that is unsurprisingly an environment in which many varieties of mushrooms thrive. Approximately 3000 species of fungi have been identified in Mendocino County, but only a dozen or so are edible, so going with someone skilled in identification is important. For my purposes- photography- edibility is not really a consideration.

We made our way along the trail and then off-trail into the decaying stumps and bushes, the two of them gathering mushrooms, me photographing them, and the dogs doing as dogs do.

We all split within earshot of one another, expressing our excitement when we’d find large groups of hedgehogs and occasionally calling out to the dogs to make sure they were still nearby. We slowly climbed the hill, taking heed not to climb too far, as many places deep in the woods in this county have illegal farms, something we had no desire to encounter.

I chuckled to myself that if Mountain Goat ever wondered why I insisted on a camera with weather sealing, this was a perfect example (though when I told her this, she agreed there was no question as to whether or not it was important). On several occasions, I found myself in the dirt, trying to capture the gills under some of these mushrooms.

Of course, there were other natural beauties to appreciate as well.

I will never stop enjoying the mindfulness that is capturing nature with my camera.

Eventually, they called it good, and we slowly made our way back to the truck, stopping more than once when we came upon another good patch of hedgehogs and telling ourselves to STAAHHHPP already.

Pig Ear Mushrooms, aka Violet Chanterelles

We finally arrived at the truck and MG’s friend drove us back to the house, where her mom was elated when she saw all the hedgehogs we’d brought. MG and I vowed to do this again soon, as we’d truly enjoyed our first mushrooming experience.

And needless to say, I am thrilled with how some of the photos came out.

All images captured using Sony A7R v camera and Sony FE 70-200 f/4 Macro G OSS ii lens. Reach out if you have questions about settings or anything else about these images. Images are available for sale- please contact me if you do not see an image you’re interested in purchasing in my store.

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