Hillockburn Rd.

Today I went on my first chantarelle hunt (those are mushrooms, and yes, they grow in the wild here in Oregon). It was great fun. After a 40 minute drive out to some foothill of Mt Hood that caught fire decades ago, we reached the end of Hillockburn Road and began our hunt (obviously it is a strenuous process, but at least we don't have to chase the mushrooms once we've spotted them and we don't need to be quiet in order to sneak up on them). Plus, mushroom hunting seems a little more humane and absolutely more granola than certain other hunting. I found my first chantarelle just 10 feet into the woods hidden under a small log. Little did I know it would be a lucky omen for the rest of the hunt. After only 30 minutes of hunting we found the magic spot where there were chantarelles as far as the eye could see... well... at least we kept seeing more after each cluster we sacked away. So after a few miles of hiking and searching, we left Hillockburn Road with about 20 pounds of fresh chantarelle mushrooms. Doesn't that just make you want to sing?!