11 Life Lessons Learned from Morel Mushroom Hunting

Morel Mushroom

It’s April, and I’m excited for morel hunting this year! Here are eleven life lessons I’ve learned over my eleven years hunting morel mushrooms.

1. Show up. You won’t find any mushrooms if you don’t get out there. You may have to push through fear to do it. Fear is strongest in your mind, it dissipates greatly outdoors, in natural settings.
2. Sometimes you don’t see what’s right in front of you. I have knelt on morels while on the ground looking for morels. I was literally right on top of it. How many times have I seen one, and then once I look around, find many of them behind me, in the area I just passed through.
3. You find it where you find it. I think I need to go to certain parks, look for specific trees. And then last year I was walking along a river trail, and in the grass next to the trail, there they were. I didn’t expect it, I wasn’t looking, yet there they were. They were practically the only ones I found all year.
4. Be ready to trek into the hard places; dress for the possibility. In Pittsburgh they call bushes with thorns “jaggerbushes” and often morels will be underneath them, mocking me. Daring me to come get them. And whether I’m dressed for it or not, I do. So it’s better to be dressed for it: jeans, long sleeves, boots are also a good idea, since it’s usually quite muddy out there in the spring.
5. Persistence pays off (sometimes). Often I feel like giving up and going home, but sometimes it’s worth it to stay out a little (or a lot) longer.
6. Learn to deal with disappointment. Sometimes I don’t find anything and I have to deal with the disappointment. It helps to appreciate the beauty around me. Listen to the bird songs. Notice the small insects, the unfurling ferns, the smells of wild mint. Sit on a log if the disappointment threatens to turn into anger and just breathe. Breathe and appreciate. And sometimes cry a little.
7. Sometimes what you think you want is elusive, but something else turns out to be just as good, if not better. (A version of “You get what you get and don’t get upset,” perhaps?) Dryad’s Saddle mushrooms are pretty darn good. Known to some as a consolation prize, I often find dryad saddle mushrooms even when I don’t find morels. I no longer view these beautiful polypores as a consolation prize: they are delicious. Now I celebrate the find and enjoy the meal.
8. Getting out in nature is good for the mind, body, and spirit.
9. Watch out for snakes. In life I mean that as a metaphor, though while mushroom hunting I’m talking specifically about rattlesnakes and copperheads, though garter snakes make me jump too.
10. Sometimes beautiful things happens unexpectedly. A luna moth alights from the ground in front of you. An early chicken mushroom glows golden in the distance. You catch a glimpse of the Eastern towhee you’ve been hearing all morning. You see a bug that’s black and gold. You find the smallest, most delicate spiral snail shell.
11. Stop and pee if you have to. I found one of my best spots because I had to pee. As I was squatting down, I saw a morel in front of me. I looked around and gradually noticed I was in a field of hundreds of morels. I hadn’t seen a single one and would have walked right past. It is now one of my regular spots. When my bladder calls, I listen. Maybe my subconscious mind knows something my conscious mind hasn’t registered yet, and the way it signals me is through my bladder. The mind/body works in mysterious ways.