MSSF Mendocino Camp Woodlands Foray 2024 - a Member Only Event

Mendo Camp 2024 sold out at 10:30 am, Oct 10, five days after tickets went on sale. The 8 wait list spaces were all filled by Oct 15. 

 ~Stephanie, Camp Registrar.

Deep in the Mendocino woods, MSSF members gather once again for our annual north coast fun fungal rite of autumn at Mendocino Woodlands.

Friday evening presenter will be: Noah Siegel [biography]
Saturday evening presenter will be: Cat Adams [biography]

Foray descriptions are farther down - choose which foray you prefer before you go to the ticket purchase window; have a backup option in case your first choice has already filled.

Links to Camp Schedule and Program

This annual weekend-long spectacular MSSF-member mycological event includes guided forays, presentations, delicious mushroom themed meals and appetizers, creative mushroom pop up activities, and of course, plenty of mushrooms!  

All on-site meals and lodging [Friday night through Sunday lunch] are included in the basic $340 per person adult member rate. [Humans, age 12 and under, have a reduced rate.]

• Mendocino Woodlands does NOT allow pets.
• Please read the cancellation policy at the bottom!
• Get your Jackson Demonstration State Forest permit right away!
  
  • It's snail mail, and doesn't have speedy turn-around time
  • Mushroom Permit Information (PDF) BY MAIL ONLY- Allow 14 working days. [send your permit form by Oct 17]
    
• The maximum number people that can register for this event is 140, including staff and volunteers
  • Once the event sells-out, a wait list will open automatically
    
• Up to 4 individuals can be registered per order
  
  • Everyone has to be registered - including children of any age
    
  • Everyone must be an MSSF member (it will be verified in the member database), including children
  • In your mssf.org member-only area, you can add additional family members (who live at the same address), to your membership
    
  • Additional family members do not pay dues. They don't need to have an email address.
• MSSF is in Camp #1 - Lodging details
• Menu for the weekend

As you complete your registration, you will be providing info to the camp registrars.

MORE INFORMATION: In the last few days before camp, a phone call or text will be more effective communication than email [for last minute issues]. There is no WiFi and minimal/no cell signal at Mendocino Woodlands; staff will be there by Thursday afternoon/evening, without 21st century electronic connection.

Camp Director: David Gardella or (602)-617-0150 - for general questions

Camp Registrar: Stephanie Wright, or (510) 388-5009 - registration, wait-list questions, 1st-timer questions, cabin assignments, tips for having the best experience

2024 Mendo Forays

Information about the forays and foray leaders; after you reserve your place at camp, you will choose a foray [multiple-choice question during check-out].

• Long forays last 4-6 hours; short forays go out for 2-4 hours.
  
• All expert-led forays take place on Saturday, immediately after breakfast.

Foray #1: Norm Andresen - Educational & Edible focus Long; Carpool to several locations in Jackson Demonstration State Forest Norm has been a member of the MSSF, since 1986. A MSSF Past President and Foray Chair for 20 odd years, he has led numerous forays throughout the years to Salt Point SP, JDSF, the Sierras, Oregon, Colorado and DC. He has been chasing morels in the Sierras since the 1990 A-Rock fire to the present day. He has also hunted boletes locally, into Colorado, the east coast, and to points far north. He has an unnatural and peculiar interest in the genus Russula. Norm originally studied fungi at SF State.

Foray #2: Ken Litchfield - Educational, Edible, and Cultivation Oriented Short; Hike on trails from Camp 1 into Jackson Demonstration State Forest Ken is one of the prime pioneers, educators, and influencers in Northern California Mycology over the past 30 years. During this time, he led a team of mushroom cultivation enthusiasts to create a mushroom garden at SF's Randall Museum and at the Presidio National Park. Ken taught the first fully accredited and transferable"Mushroom Cultivation" course in the country at Merritt College in Oakland. During that time, he Co-chaired the MSSF Fungus Fair. At Mendo Camp, Ken also leads the Saturday night MycoMendoMondo event.

Foray #3: Brennen Wenck & Cat Adams - Educational, Edible, & Scientific Focus Long; Carpool to several locations in Jackson Demonstration State Forest Brennan Wenck is a Faculty Lecturer in biology at San Francisco State University. In the summer, he teaches a night photography class at the SF State Sierra Nevada Field Campus. Brennan is the Chair of the MSSF Scholarship Committee and is a Past President of MSSF. Cat Adams is interested in how chemical ecology influences interactions between plants and fungi. For her PhD in Tom Bruns’ lab, Cat is studying the invasive ectomycorrhizal fungus, Amanita phalloides. The death cap  mushroom kills more people than any other mushroom, but how the deadly amatoxins influence its invasion remains unexplored. She also collaborates with a group in China, studying how arbuscular mycorrhizae can help crop plants avoid toxic effects from pollution.

Foray #4: JR Blair - Educational Foray & Beginning Mushroom Identification Class Short; This foray will walk from Camp #1 into Jackson Demonstration State Forest followed by an ID class back at camp J.R.Blair received his Bachelor’s degree at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington and obtained his Master’s degree at San Francisco State University in 1999 studying with the accomplished mycologist, Dr. Dennis Desjardin. His thesis was Fungi Associated with Arctostaphylos in Northern California. Since that time, he has been an active member of the Mycological Society of San Francisco. He served a two-year term as President and was their Fungus Fair chairperson for five years. He has taught mushroom identification workshops for mycological societies and outdoor education programs for many years. He was a lecturer of biology at SFSU for 21 years until his retirement in 2020 and was the director of the Sierra Nevada Field Campus for a dozen years.

Foray #5: Enrique Sanchez & Noah Siegel - Educational, Edible & Scientific Focus Short; Carpool or walk to a location in Jackson Demonstration State Forest Enrique Sanchez has had an interest in fungi since the early 1980's. He came across MSSF around 2001, joined soon after, and has been having many great experiences along the way. His home has many mushroom cultivation projects and he has taught cultivation workshops. Enrique is the MSSF Education Chair. Noah’s field mycology skills are extensive – he has spent over three decades seeking, photographing, identifying, and furthering his knowledge about all aspects of macrofungi. His photographs have appeared on the covers and have been featured in articles of multiple issues of FUNGI Magazine. He authored, along with Christian Schwarz, Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast, and the new book, Mushrooms of Cascadia.

Foray #6: Maria Pham - Educational & Edible Foray Long; Carpool to several locations in Jackson Demonstration State Forest As a child, I used to pick chanterelles and berries in the forest. When I moved to the Bay Area in 1997, I had no idea California had so many different mushrooms. When I joined the Mycological Society, I participated in many forays, fairs, and events and learned so much. I was blown away by all the edibles you can find within a few hours' drive from San Francisco. I got to hunt Salt Point, the Sierras, and the Jackson Demonstration Forest together with the club. After learning how to find chanterelles, yellowfoot, black trumpets, hedgehogs, porcini, princes, lobsters, candy caps, morels, and matsutake, mushroom hunting has become an obsession of mine. I devote one day a week to foraging during the season. I often hunt with my daughters and friends.    My foray would focus on edibles and suit participants of all ages.

Foray #7: Jenna Hinshaw - Educational & Edible focus Long; Carpool to several locations in Jackson Demonstration State Forest Jenna Hinshaw is a professional forager born and raised on the Mendocino Coast. She has been picking wild mushrooms for over 30 years. She's also an artist who works in various mediums, including painting mushrooms on dried conks. Jenna is a Co-Founder of Forage Mendocino an educational events organization focused on the sustainable and ethical harvest of wild foods. We wish to improve foraging land access; advocate for Tribal access to ancestral foraging lands; and preserve and restore wild food habitat on the Mendocino Coast and surrounding regions.

Foray #8: Pascal Pelous - Educational & Edible Oriented Long; Carpool to several locations in Jackson Demonstration State Forest  After learning the basics in France from my family, hunting for mushrooms has become my favorite hobby after moving to California in 1994. I focus on finding edible mushrooms but am curious about everything related to mycology. An active MSSF member since 2006, I have helped the society with the website, as social media chair, newsletter chair, leading forays and now as MSSF Treasurer.