Mar 23rd, 2024 - Wild Mushrooming at Salt Point State Park

These events usually sell out within the first 24-72 hours. If it shows as sold out, it is. Please refrain from emailing us asking if it is sold out. There is a waitlist option.

Please read this entire, informative description to know what to bring, the timeline of the day, etc:

The SOMA Wild Mushrooming & Potluck event provides a great opportunity to get out in the woods to collect and identify wild mushrooms with knowledgeable and professional mycological goofballs who are serious about mushrooming. Our events are open to the public & we welcome all ages/experience levels. We have many local experts/enthusiasts who will facilitate the outings & share their perspectives about the mushrooms & the forest!

Really Important Stuff: by registering for this event, you are agreeing to the Liability Waiver.  Please read & review.

You should also know that by joining us for this event you might be exposed to poison oak, ticks, mosquitoes, viruses, other sick-making organisms & more natural wonders of the world that you may or may not enjoy.

Parking Fee: Woodside Campground Day Use is $8 per vehicle. Carpooling is not limited to hippies, environmentalists, or Prius drivers - the latter of which are their own species (genetically proven).

Dogs: CA State Parks do not allow dogs on the trails, but they are allowed on leash in the parking/day use areas. Please clean up or bury the poops.

For the potluck, which is also really important, please bring:

• A picnic-style (hopefully gourmet) appetizer/dish of 10+ servings; we are feeding 90+ people. Fancy is encouraged & desired by almost everyone except people that don't like to eat tasty food & some goblins.
• Your own plates, utensils, drinks, chairs/mats & anything else you need to be fed, hydrated & comfortable.
• Bonus points if you bring pens & labels to list food ingredients.

None of SOMA's staff are paid. Instead, your ticket price - plus any additional donations, scroll down - will go towards food for the potluck, our general scholarship fund and/or fungal DNA sequencing; we award an amazing $15,000+ per year to mycology students, community scientists & those contributing to the field of mycology. This is, maybe, unmatched in the country & maybe the world (Earth, that is). So we thank you for your interest & attendance! If you want to pay your group leaders in hearty/delicious/healthy snacks, they will probably happily accept unless they are of the aforementioned goblin type.

"Hike" (more like a partially sober or slightly deranged pacing while staring at the ground):

Consider bringing:

• Stamina for 1-2 miles at a slow/medium pace over somewhat hilly terrain. 
• Rain/warm gear, layered clothing & sturdy hiking footwear.
• Water (reusable vessel preferred) & snacks - plus extra snacks for your group leaders.
• A sense of adventure and curiosity!
• Maybe a hat and/or a walking stick/poles.
  
• A basket, paper bag, small wax paper bags and/or a tackle box are helpful for separating different mushrooms, which is recommended for safe/easeful identification. Piling them all in one vessel is a rookie move. You don't want to be that humanoid.
• Smart phone with GPS mapping apps (hike tracking apps like AllTrails, GAIA GPS, etc.), a compass app or an actual compass! Cell reception in the park is limited, so download apps/maps ahead of time.

We also recommend using iNaturalist (and we can teach you how!) to photograph mushrooms you find in-situ (before picking) because some mushrooms might be rare or endangered. This is an easy way to contribute to community science. Check out the Fungal Diversity Survey and Mushroom Observer as well.

Timeline of the Day:

Arriving/Parking at 9:25-9:45am - Woodside Campground Day Use Area in Salt Point State Park (about 30-40 mins north of Jenner on Hwy 1) 

*NOTE:  there are some sections on Hwy 1 with one-way traffic signals due to road work, so plan some extra time for travel. For the $8 parking fee, when the Woodside ranger kiosk is not staffed, please use the provided envelopes & the brown/metal self-registration box.

At 9:45am: 

SOMA staff/leaders will introduce themselves, maybe talk about what types of mushrooms are popping up & some questions can be answered. We do our best to make this brief & get into the woods.

At 10am: 

We will divide into groups & disperse to various very secret locations within the park, hopefully to find wild mushrooms - no guarantees! But no matter what, you will hear some important mushrooming tips that you'll take with you forever or as long as you can remember.

At 12:30pm:

SOMA provides a hot mushroom-inspired dish for everyone, cooked onsite by club chefs (mostly Patrick & his magnanimous personalities) & supplemented with your yummy (+ fancy + gourmet) additions! The potluck lunch is another fun part of the day with the gathering of food, stories & mushroomy thoughts. Please bring your own plates, forks, drinks, chairs or mats & anything else to be fed, hydrated & comfortable. Bring extras for the benevolent goblins that like really good food & insure the mushrooms keep fruiting - they don't require utensils or chairs.

Approximately 1:00pm: 

We'll have an interactive show & tell session of fungal identification & interesting facts where we discuss some/all of the finds from the morning. Questions are highly encouraged & some cannot be answered, but we will likely have a response for everything asked. 

Contacts and questions:

• General/Refunds: Ryath Fujita Beauchene (SOMA board member) using the "contact the organizer" button.
  
  • If you have read this entire description & laughed at least twice, you get 4 gold stars & Ryath wants a hug or respectful bow with you for all his efforts.
• Foray Committee Chair & Chef: Patrick Hamilton - Forays@SOMAmushrooms.org
  • Patrick might want a hug from you too. Ask first. You've been warned.

Additional Information:

• Map to Salt Point State Park
• Foraging info
• SOMA News
• Membership