Miles today: 28.9
Trail miles sum: 1642
Trail location: 2324.4
Elevation: 5427
Spinning on the turntable: Mozart: Piano Concertos #20 & 21
A rather chilly start to my morning at 44 degrees Fahrenheit. No rain though, so I’m not complaining.
This is the first frost I’ve seen since April. The colder weather definitely makes the hiking a little easier.
Puffball mushroom
Yup, it’s another mushroom picture. I can’t help myself. I like how they seem to be exploding from underground, bursting from the soil and stretching for the sky. I think this is a Gem studded puffball.
The paths that pop up sporadically leave me scratching my head. Why is this path here, in the middle of nowhere? No complaints, just curious.
I ran across this bench:
Autograph bench
Who carries a Sharpie to sign stuff??? I don’t, so I didn’t sign the bench.
It’s crazy how close we are to Mt. Rainier. Surreal. After we hiked the Wonderland trail we discussed moving to this area. We really like it a lot.
Mt Rainier
Here’s yet another unidentified mushroom.
Another mushroom
Seems like I entered and exited and then reentered Mt. Rainier park today. It’s odd to be hiking here without Noelle next to me.
Mt Rainier boundaries
The mushroom was a panther aminita. Definitely not edible.
A couple days ago you found a beautiful king (or possibly the lighter colored queen) bolete. Those are gourmet fare. You’re missing out. The king boletes, also called porcini, are among the best mushrooms. They are easy to identify, all the mushrooms with the fat stem and pores (not gill slits) are good except those with red spores and pores. I have yet to see one of the red spore varieties in the NW.
None of the other mushroom you posted are worth eating although they are beautiful and amazing as they pop out of the ground, seemingly overnight.
I really like the way the burst from the ground pushing the topsoil out of the way. I haven’t picked any mushrooms yet but I do enjoy looking at them. This week I saw green and black mushrooms and one crazy spiral mushroom. I’ll post pictures soon.
When two paths cross which is taken? That was just a choice trail. Enjoy following the trails with the 2 of you.