Even though a brave, opportunistic squirrel ate more of our mushroom finds than we did, Friday's Slow Food Vail Valley mushroom forage put the fun in fungi.

After a short primer on what to look for, 20-some mushroom hunters scattered in the woods atop Tennessee Pass in search of edible 'shrooms on Friday. With our eyes intently scanning the ground, we walked through the woods looking for the tell-tale “shrumps,” or bulges in the ground, signaling a mushroom is coming up through the undergrowth. We were also looking for the bright red (with white spots) “Christmas” mushroom, scientific name Amanita muscaria, which are poisonous, but indicate the edible, and quite tasty, King Bolete mushrooms are nearby.

The big, round brownish caps of the King Bolete mushrooms — called Cepe in France, Steinpilz in Germany and Porcini in Italy — have a yellowish sponge-like underside instead of gills. Along with being relatively easy to identify, they're quite tasty. If you find one, keep searching — oftentimes multiple mushrooms sprout up within the same small area.

‘When in doubt, throw it out'

King Boletes, and other choice edible mushrooms native to the area, are prevalent after a good rain. CMC Culinary director (and avid mushroomer) Todd Rymer led the event and said often times between 24 and 72 hours after it rains is a good time to head for the forest. The problem was, there hadn't been much rain of late in the area, and the ground was pretty dry.

But nevertheless, after about an hour of hunting, the group convened back at the beautiful Continental Divide Cabins, owned by longtime Vail Valley resident Lee Rimel who spends half the year there, with baskets and bags holding a respectable amount of mushrooms. It was more than Rymer, who'd been in the area scouting the day before, expected we'd find, he said.

We spread the bounty out on the steps of a sheepherder's wagon on the property and with the help of Rymer, and the mushroom book he recommends, “Mushrooms of Colorado,” tried to identify the fungi. There were quite a few Boletes along with a pair of nice Hawk's wing mushrooms, named such for the scales on the cap that resemble feathers. We also identified mushrooms from the poisonous Amanita family, nicknamed “death caps.” And for those we couldn't positively ID, Slow Food member Susan Mackin Dolan reminded the group of the timeless mushroom mantra, “When in doubt, throw it out.”

Though the plan had been to dine on sauteed mushrooms for lunch afterwards, we stuck to the other food the Slow Food folks had brought — an array of Colorado cheeses, bread from Avon Bakery, Colorado heirloom tomato salad with white beans and a lovely Palisade peach crisp for dessert. We were nearly done feasting when someone noticed the squirrel, busy helping himself to the mushrooms we collected.

After taking a few test bites, the young squirrel would carry the mushroom (some nearly as big as himself) up a nearby tree and stash it on one of the branches, and then repeat. A group of us gathered around the wagon and watched as the brazen critter mostly ignored his audience and went about the business of hording our mushrooms. I guess we're not the only ones who love fungi.

High Life Editor Caramie Schnell can be reached at 970-748-2984 or cschnell@vaildaily.com.