Saint Helens

On 9-11-04, I climbed to the top of Mount Saint Helens. I stood at the mouth of the volcano, watching steam rise from the cinder cone at the center of the crater. It was neat. So were the mushrooms along the forested two miles of trail that lead from Climber's Bivouac to the last rocky three miles of trail to the top of the volcano.

This is most likely a Boletus mirabilis, or admirable bolete. It is a fairly large mushroom; the cap is about the size of half a baseball, and the colors are striking against the greens and browns of the forest floor. This shows the pores, which are a little yellower in real life than they appear in this photo. B. mirabilis is said to be a good edible, but I have not tried it.

Another view of the same fungus. Something that is not visible in these photos is that in areas where it is wounded (or, usually, nibbled by slugs) it stains a brilliant pinkish orange.

A pretty little gray and white shelf fungus. The stick it was growing on was only about an inch in diameter.

The three Paxillus involutus lined up nicely in front of a big old tree.

Paxillus at Denny Creek

This mushroom is only about 3mm wide. The ghostly blue tones were there in real life, but I had a heck of a time getting the camera to expose the shot for the white mushroom and not the dark wood behind it.

The trick is revealed in this shot. I put a white piece of paper behind the mushroom, got the camera to adjust its exposure to it, and then centered the mushroom in the shot. Unfortunately, that means that the mushrooms are not quite in focus.

I have no idea what the species might be on these teeny, tiny guys. I like the pinkness that's picked up in this photo, though.

These unusual mushrooms are Pseudohydnum gelatinosum, the toothed jelly fungus. They are reportedly edible, but as you can see if you compare the size of the moss fronds and fir needles, they would not be very filling. Besides, their texture is rather jelly like and I imagine that if you cooked them, the results would be similar to sauteeing Jello. They are beautiful nonetheless, especially in the murky light of the old forest, where they appear nearly luminescent.

The same fungus at a slightly different angle and exposure. You can really see the fuzzy little teeth in this shot.

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