Matsutake Hunting in the Olympic Mountains- Amazing Patch!

[@MegaGraham30]

I'm on the other side of the world but love your videos so much. 🇮🇪 🍄

[@rbtjorg]

I’m from the Pacific Northwest but have ties to Ireland :) What part are you from?

[@graphguy]

Wonderful!

[@russellzauner]

I'm near the northern coast range in Oregon, if you are anywhere around there you should be able to follow this channel up on the Olympic Peninsula and find the same mushrooms. One could literally follow along with the video and find the right ones that way, even if you really don't know much they're sharing so much of the *how* rather than the *which* you should be able to hunt them down like a pro.

[@timhaywood1100]

Yes, another great episode!

[@Wolfcastmushrooms]

Dang that queen at the beginning is wild. Road finds are the best!

[@patinusa358]

Thank you for VDO ❤👍👍👍

[@mercatorfilms]

1:22 "Beautiful and untouched place" meanwhile logging truck casually rolls by. Nice references here. I am a huge fan of your work spreading information about the beautiful lands around us. Love this seeing more of these forests walks, super great info!!

[@naturallynorthwest9748]

Great video. Every time I've found matsutake, I have smelled them before I saw them. It is very subtle, but enough to get me wondering if they were close and start looking. There has also been times I smelled them, but wasn't able to locate them. As Toucan Sam would say, "Follow your nose!"

[@BeautifulPeony_Love]

Love those huge matsutake mushrooms. They are my favorite mushrooms.

[@GuardianAngelWatcher]

Super great haul Aaron! Really informative and helpful; I appreciate and thank you.

[@th8298]

I wish we went together. Dang it. You have the eye for seeing it all. My eyesight is not the best these days. I guess I have been looking at the sun way too long.

[@pamelasternin4349]

Inspiring video! Thanks for keeping us stoked when we can't get out to forage cause life.

[@helenviado1437]

Show us how you pick them all so exciting😊

[@G.A.gigger]

Hi , thanks for the great video ..I pick Matsu in B.C. And have done so for well over 50 years ...prices this year were almost 30 for the ones and very good prices for the lower grades. I remember the most I ever got for buttons was 90 a lb. way back . I still get out and pick and love it.Thanks for showing your woods and the habitat in where you pick ..

[@sopheap4177]

Love this video, Aaron!! What a great season we're having! 🍄❤️

[@ReignForesthome]

Sweet little spot you found😀

[@user-kc7pf7xj5j]

Thanks for sharing. Will have to get out there. Respect and enjoy.

[@EYES2seeEARS2hear78]

Lived all my 45yrs in PNW- is Marlaina still the prez? I love finding mushrooms- however it seems these past couple years in the lowlands- Kitsap Memorial, etc the mushrooms have gone dormant, disappeared. Thanks again for inspiring me to head into the hills. If I could walk without pain…Would make it that much more enjoyable.Happy hunting

[@toddmutchler7800]

Great video Aaron.

[@lisacassells3828]

What an amazing haul.

[@chefjameso]

wow that queen is huge

[@als1023]

Best Matsutake video I have seen, for those in PNW. Needed the help on area, and forest type, thanks ! Vancouver Islander

[@hengehog838]

So many shrumps

[@charliefeinstein943]

Another great video Aaron! I love that area too. I found 12lbs of fresh goldens the other day. Challenging terrain but so satisfying. 🎉

[@SecretCollage]

THANK YOU this is so fun and so insightful!

[@hyperionsolomon8718]

At 19:53, Aaron clasps his fingers together, much like Mr Burns from The Simpsons when he's thinking about world domination, almost like hes plotting a scheme for Matsu. That's some serious mushroom ambitions there, dude. 😂 I love it!!! Its intoxicating to watch!

[@hannahhe7230]

Great! Was it in Dec?

[@mushroomwonderland1]

2 weeks ago. But I see reports of people still finding them!

[@stevenmoore9233]

Hey Aaron @mushroom wonderland what day did you shoot this video? I see that you posted it one day ago? Thank you

[@mushroomwonderland1]

This was filmed a week and a half ago.

[@stevenmoore9233]

Thanks Aaron appreciate the reply.. I live in Oregon and wonder if Matsutake's are popping up here too!!

[@mazzarothwatch]

how late do u find those up there? I have family in Sequim so i was thinking of coming up to hunt if not too late. I find em in November in southern Oregon but they are hard to find and nothing like what you are scoring...love your channel bro

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Getting close to the end of the season! This will probably be the last good weekend, except in certain microclimates.

[@Mr_CGS]

I live in Sequim they are really good mushroom spots here

[@leskrug9266]

I've been watching you for a while. This is just a suggestion. I think he should have a harvest and cook out in the mushroom. Wonderland? Take some of the extra stuff that you want for mushrooms. Maybe take a steak or hamburgers or something like that. But yeah have a have a harvest and cook episode

[@mushroomwonderland1]

I have probably a dozen videos where I cook at the end, it's just extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming to do it. Maybe if I can quit my day job sometime and focus on the channel I'll do more cooking videos. I would love to.

[@leskrug9266]

@@mushroomwonderland1 I'll have to go back and see if I can find those videos where you were cooking them

[@traceypheasby5207]

Subscribed love your channel; so much information; well done 😊

[@traceypheasby5207]

Aussie chick watching ❤

[@dhiskeywick1776]

Thanks for this content, Aaron. I like hiking in the woods in the PNW, but I don't know anything about mushrooms so I don't touch them.

[@capieb7663]

Fabulous video homie

[@foodinthecarpathianmountai9892]

Great video . The mushrooms look delicious.. Thanks for sharing and may God bless ! 🙏 ❤😊

[@ttyk19]

amazing! epic! and jealous.

[@jennifers6435]

You must have an excellent sense of direction..happy picking from Port Ludlow

[@cma3436]

Hey Aaron, much love from Longview Washington. Question for you. Do you need a permit or a license hunt mushrooms were you hunt them? I'm still learning. Thank you and cheers!

[@lilolmecj]

You don’t need a permit, but there are daily limits. I don’t know how much though. I am speaking of for private use, for commercial picking there might be a permit required.

[@cma3436]

@@lilolmecj Great thanks for the feedback.

[@PHill]

As far as I know the petsonal limit in the various districts in Olumpic National FOREST (not the National PARK) is 3 gallons.

[@vasiliybukur4302]

Thank you Aaron. I already watched the video. Very helpful. I will pluck the matsutake mushrooms from now cu on.

[@ThayGiQuay]

My favourite mushroom

[@stefanbroschart1670]

go AAron.. always nice..

[@radiantheatingservicesnw3465]

Are you finding similar flushes this year or was last year just a very special year. I found a few but far and few between out by GP

[@mushroomwonderland1]

@@radiantheatingservicesnw3465 not nearly like last year!

[@emmalouie1663]

Ah, I can see the Olympics from where I am at though it's quite far away. The area where I'm at is full of mostly cedars so I won't be finding anything like that and in fact I had no idea we had those Japanese mushrooms in WA state. Very very neat to watch this. I love woodland settings. I do smell mushrooms sometimes before I see them. Depends on a person's sense of smell and the type of mushroom but when the forest is a clean area it doesn't have all the pollution smells and you can get frangrance of mushrooms in the air. There is some kind down the road that smells like fish lol. No idea what sort it is I just leave it there.

[@boosalith2246]

I've been picking Matsutake since 1992. When you said $20 to $30 per pound i was suprised. When i started picking them it was going $200 to $300 per pound. The highest i ever seen the price at that time was $375. Prices have dropped quite low nowadays. The highest one seen for the last 10 years is $25 per pound. Now i just harvest Matsutake for personal consumption.

[@whoe_whate8487]

I love Lake Cushman! I really want to go mushroom hunting there.

[@JakeSmith-ps4vr]

15 min 17seconds, is that an agaricon on that dead standing tree behind you? It looks huge! Love the videos man!!

[@mushroomwonderland1]

I think just a Fomitopsis mounceae, Red Belted Conch

[@TOMTOM1212121]

Matsutake mushrooms that grow near fir trees and boxwood trees are called ‘samatsu’ (early matsutake mushrooms) in Japan. Generally, the highest-priced ones are those that grow near red pine trees.

[@PHill]

Hmm, maybe I should come and visit again .... 😂😅

[@Mr_CGS]

I wish I had a buyer for my Masatukes I find a ton every year.

[@bobbyGnOly]

thanks

[@westcoast8562]

YEA WHEN YOU FIND A BIG PATCH YOU WILL SMELL THEM. IN YEARS PAST I THOUGHT I MAY HAVE SMELLED THEM BUT THIS YEAR I SMELLED THEM FOR SURE. WAS ABOUT 30 MUSHROOMS TOTAL

[@S2sparkleS2]

do you know if the state sprays the sides of roads to keep weeds down?

[@JohnOnEdge]

Hi Aaron! In the beginning of this video, I noticed some mushrooms in your basket that looked like white lobsters. This year, a couple of months ago, I found what I thought to be white lobsters as well, but I wasn't able to find much info on them. Do you know firstly, if they are in fact lobsters, and if so, why they stay white instead of turning orange/red/purple and so on?

[@vasiliybukur4302]

Thank you for the wonderful and informative videos Aaron. I noticed you don’t cut the mushrooms at the roots. Could you please explain why? I was thought that if you leave the roots they’ll come back next year. Thank you!

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Thank you for watching, and it doesn't make a difference to cut or pluck. I really urge you to go into the videos on my channel and look up "to cut or pluck," a total exposé on the topic, it explains it all so clearly by all of the best experts.

[@nickwhite2569]

Hey Aaron, what a season for Matsutake!! Question: I remember in a previous video you mentioned what raingear you use. I've tried to go back and find what video it was, but I've been unsuccessful. Could you link what raingear you use?? Thanks!

[@mushroomwonderland1]

I have always liked Helly Hanson, But I don't have a sponsorship deal with them yet so I'm not going to advertise for them quite yet haha!

[@spongebobsqueeze]

Could you do a video and show us how you dehydrate these mushrooms and I was wondering if you can sell the dehydrate matsutake later in the year.

[@mushroomwonderland1]

People do buy them dried. When I get them home I clean all the dirt off, I slice them about a quarter inch thick and then lay them out on the dehydrator. About 2 days with heat and their potato chip crisp and then I pulled them off rotate fresh ones on to the dehydrator. And then put them in a sealed bag with a desiccant packet. Yes people do sell and buy dried Matsutake, If you can find the market.

[@spongebobsqueeze]

@@mushroomwonderland1 Thank you for the information about drying them. The best mushroom soup I have ever had was in the spring and made with dehydrated matsutake as a base. I tried to make it with fresh as a base and it just was not the same. The dehydrated had a richer flavor.

[@sandyshell8149]

I live in Vancouver Washington, have you picked mushrooms in this area? New to the area, moved from Alaska, i knew all the mushroom spots in Wasilla. If you can suggest an area i could find mushrooms, it would be great 👍

[@Ragani108]

Wow 200 lbs?! Is there a limit to numbers you can harvest in the Olympic forests?

[@tylersathern1076]

What is the best method of preserving the extra mushrooms when you find so many at a time? (Dehydrate them maybe??)

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Yes, definitely dehydrated for these!

[@phrosted]

What brand are your overalls? I’ve been looking for a pair for the bush now that it’s wet walking through the bush!

[@oliwiamichalak3870]

Do you know if growing matsutake is possible? I have a pine forest and a good climate.

[@billwoods2459]

Total newbie here. Having only picked chanterelles and morels, found this a very useful video. Thanks. Question: I remember being taught to slice off the base of the mushroom with a knife to minimize the disturbance of the mycelium. You didn't use a knife and mentioned getting more value from taking the whole volva. So, was my instruction wrong? This won't deplete the patch over time?

[@farahunt8181]

With matsutake if you want to sell them they say to take them from the soil instead of slicing, because leaving the soil on them at the bottom keeps them fresh for longer and in transit. I’ve watched another video about how you can destroy a patch by taking them all that’s why it’s best to leave about a third of what you found and they can spore and create more.

[@mattschindler1171]

Can you find those in the sake areas that you find chantrels?

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Yes! They do prefer similar habitats. I rarely return from Matsi picking without some Chants making home in the basket also.🍄

[@mattschindler1171]

@@mushroomwonderland1 awesome thank you.

[@westcoast8562]

ARE THEY STILL BUYING PINES IN WASHINGTON?

[@dirtcopdualsport]

Wow can you find these in the Idaho panhandle?

[@mattmarchand3139]

What's the shrub those big patches are growing under. I'm in Mendocino County northern California

[@mushroomwonderland1]

@@mattmarchand3139 "Salal" Gultharia shallon

[@kimprocarione5473]

WOW!!!!!

[@stockbulll]

Do matsutake mushrooms grow after a frost?

[@westcoast8562]

They will tolerate light frost s and often the frost will make them start to pop. They need cold .

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Yes, radiation frost is fine. A deep freeze will usually end them though.

[@ewlum1]

Did you notice when light gets reflected from structures on the surface of the Queen bolete mushroom?

[@Fragrantbeard]

Can you give us a newbies a sense of how to consider elevation this time of year in Western Wa? I don't know how high (below snow level) is reasonable - but that's often our better forest lands. I've got a few years of chanterelles under my belt and now I want to expand my knowledge - thank you SO much for what you're doing here. I'm sure it is a lot of work.

[@mushroomwonderland1]

They seem to like cooler temps in the mountains, the coastal ones kinda do their own thing. Plenty of rain is necessary, so maybe it's less about temp and more about rainfall amounts. They typically start at higher elevations and work their way down to sea level.

[@PHill]

I find them above the Cedar and Doug Fir, but not so far up to onky the alpine trees. Let's call it tge transition where tgere are firs and even spruce, but not where there are alpine meadows.

[@logeyful]

How late will they be growing?

[@DoubleADay]

Was this recently or older footage? I'm asking because I would like to go out but I'm tired of disappointment

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Last week. 25th of Nov 🍄👍

[@DoubleADay]

Thanks again

[@riverrat1149]

Covered in snow now unfortunately

[@lifengjin9510]

Is this tricholoma roseocanus?😊

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Tricholoma murrillianum

[@sashagoddard7737]

I don't understand why you are only collecting the buttons. Aren't they all as delicious? Do you sell them to Chef's?

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Oh, no i collect them all. The big ones are still good, and yes I dehydrate them. But restaurants and in Japan they want them still closed buttons, supposedly they have the most aroma then.

[@TheSpikie22]

I like to go slow, just find them as i do, not looking for trees, wasting time and energy. Getting all kinds in my back yard, but then we don't even eat mushrooms yet. 6 year forager😂

[@hyperionsolomon8718]

And there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes it's about enjoying the journey, not the destination, but for some of us it's the opposite. When it comes to mushrooms, I get a little depressed if I don't get a dopamine or serotonin dump. There is no wrong answer, as long as you're enjoying it, you're doing it right. Kudos to you.

[@africanskyowl6652]

Hey.youre in my back yard dude!!

[@westcoast8562]

WHAT I THINK IS THERE ARE SEVERAL SPECIES OF CHANTRELLE S THAT HAVE YET TO BE DEFINED. I SEE DIFFERENT MAIN CHARACTERISTICS DEPENDING WHICH PATCH IM PICKING. FROM DIFFERENT COLORS TO DIFFERENT STEM SHAPES WHERE THEY GO INTO THE SOIL...TO DIFFERENT SIZES. I THINK MYCOLOGISTS SHOULD TAKER A CLOSER LOOK. HERE ON VANCOUVER ISLAND ID SAY THERE ARE 4 DIFFERENT TYPES AT LEAST. OPEN TO YOUR THOUGHTS ?!

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Yes, if they have golden gills and stem, Cantharellus formosus, If gold with white gills= C. californicus, Vibrant orange gills= C. roseocanus, stalky and pale yellow= C. cascadensis, white/cream colored= C. subalbidus 🍄

[@PHill]

There are 5 or 6 alrrady established Chanterelle species. I have to say, I too think there might be others. I was suspecting another "Golden Chanterelle" species just this year. Yes it was golden, but it seemed to be two toned!

[@westcoast8562]

@@PHill so much to be discovered .

[@PNWgirl921]

In my backyard again eh?😂 We didn’t find any headed the other direction at the “T” last weekend😢.

[@jasonkohler-zz7mw]

My friend who is a commercial buyer took me picking this season on his secret grounds he has picked for 35 years. (Hes the 100#-200# per day guy). He straight up LAUGHED at me for picking perfect giant #3's... By the end of the day i understood why. Lol

[@RobertJohnson-un3fe]

Rose Cushman maybe?

[@capieb7663]

Queen bolete yahooo

[@mushroomwonderland1]

That was probably my favorite find of the day!

[@ricksartor9573]

Would you be willing to share your location

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Just as much as i did in the video, which really helps narrow it down, not only the exact region but habitat throughout the video. Of course I am not going to post the exact coordinates for thousands to see and potentially go stomp the area. A mushroom picker never makes his prize patch public. A big part of the thrill is finding your own patch.

[@ricksartor9573]

@Crystal-yc2vk I understand that. I’m new to mushrooming. I know you don’t know me, I am respectful to others areas. And also to our forest. Maybe sometime you maybe willing to teach me. I find all kinds of mushrooms. I take pictures so I can learn, I post the pictures but I don’t feel comfortable with some of what others are sharing because the opinions are matching up. I’m a hands on type person. My name is Rick. Thank you for taking your time to respond back to me. I was so excited for you, in your find of the matsutakies , & lobsters that was awesome my first I went I find a lobster and I fill 5 5 gallon buckets in 30 minutes. But I could find a buyer so I dried them out. Did I do the right thing in doing so

[@SketchybrainD]

$7.50 a lb in October for clean number ones.

[@NomadicEdyl]

man I envy you that is so delicous

[@jeffb4612]

Picking world class mushrooms and you have a gas station sandwich. Is there dangerous lookalikes.

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Ha! Yup. I don't mind trash food lol. There is a dangerous look-alike, Amanita smithiana, a large white tissue covered mushroom with a large bulbous base can be deadly and occurs in similar habitat but the lack of distinct smell, the tannish brown coloring on the stem, and the bulbous face rather than the matsutakes tapered base are pretty obvious giveaways.

[@emmalouie1663]

"The majority of harvesting done in North America on a commercial level is for Asian markets."

[@jebbkinney8516]

Dude, the way you talk sometimes reminds me of the guy from neature walk...if you haven't heard or seen it look it up. Hilarious

[@emmalouie1663]

I get the feeling people will pick this until they can't find it anywhere and export it all to the highest market maybe China.

[@PHill]

They grow back.... I don't think Cina is a big market ... yet.

[@changrenyong7616]

China is the largest Matsutake exporting country.

[@chefjameso]

if you would have got there a week before they would have been buttons

[@mushroomwonderland1]

@@chefjameso yup

[@emmalouie1663]

It's also good for people to leave the mycelium and not take it away lol or else eventually you will have NO MORE...

[@inabel.24]

Wild mushrooms should not be sold unless they are cultured. Should be free for all or can be bartered with another food resource or spices maybe but not money. Commercialization will destroy resource base. Like most people, I love love mushrooms, any mushrooms so long as they are edible.

[@emmalouie1663]

"In three generations (50 years), Tricholoma matsutake populations have declined at a rate of 30% worldwide."

[@tunneloflight]

For me there is little in the world more detestable than matsutake. I cooked up one, took one taste and could not spit it out fast enough. Horrible. I threw the rest in the trash. The smell got me. And I very soon had to take it outside the house into the garbage double bagged. That wasn't even enough. Just walking near the garbage can was horrible. So I moved it out by the road. That was still to close to be honest. Be carful about the high regard people have for this mushroom. If you are like me - stay away. Stay far far far away. Ditto for sea urchin. Oh god - how horrible! Perhaps there are some chemicals these have in common?! If you detest sea urchin, take special caution about matsutake. Thank you for identifying where they occur. I live here. I will carefully avoid these areas. Ick, ack. Gack. Ugh. Detestable.