Morel mushrooms: The Hunt or The Find?

Hunting the elusive morel mushroom in the forests of Marquette County

Marquette, MI – Searching for these mysterious mushrooms can be quite rewarding. Share in one mushrooms hunter’s experience to find out tips on where and how to find morel mushrooms and what to do with them after in Morel Mushrooms: The Hunt or The Find? 

Not considering myself much of a hunter, I was able to take part in an activity yesterday that I’ve only done a handful of times in my life. If you’ve ever looked for a needle in a haystack, lost an earring down the drain or dropped your keys down a drainpipe, you will be close to knowing how closely to look for what we were ‘hunting’ yesterday.

Morel mushrooms grow near ferns, they ‘pop’ up in the sunshine, and (at least in the places we looked) are heavily guarded by swarms of mosquitoes. There were seven of us looking for them, scouring the earth, moving leaves and yelling “found one” when each morel was located. My fiancé had pointed out the excellent spot that we went to, just a short distance from Marquette, and we were lucky enough to go with my sister and brother-in-law, as well as some friends.

My sister has been known to many in the area as the “morel whisperer,” as she professes to be able to “hear them grow.” Although that may sound farfetched, I have definitely heard stranger things, and by looking at the amount that she’d found, I have a newfound respect and element of believability in what she says about it.

It was my daughter Emma’s first time picking morel mushrooms, and as she found one after another, after another, she professed her renewed love of the outdoors and searching for these tasty morsels. She definitely had a bigger find than I did, but again, the hunt is almost as fun as the reward. Moving branches, checking under leaf piles and searching particularly under the likes of apple trees and shrubs, the weather was perfect for our ‘hunting’ trip. It was hot, humid, and the sun was just baking down on us and the terrain that we were searching – the perfect combination for for morel mushroom hunting.

We started out our search with only one baseball cap in which to carry our treasures, but by the end of the day we opted to use a huge potato sack, since we’d found so many. Although hunting for morels is fun in any aspect, the more people that go, the better, as the ground gets covered much more thoroughly. Having a second, third or fourth set of eyes is definitely helpful – we probably covered four miles in the time that we were out there.  Plenty of times we would walk right past one, only to find that another member of our party would yell “found one,” even though someone else may have already walked in that exact location.

Morel mushrooms fried in a pan with onions. (canstockphoto.com)

Upon returning home after our adventure, we sautéed the morels with butter and garlic salt. What a treat they were, especially paired with the homemade spaghetti dinner I’d made to go along with them. Although my daughter didn’t particularly like them (which meant there were more for us) she said that it was one of the most enjoyable activities that she’d done in a long time. Her only question was, “when can we go again, Mom?”
Morel mushroom season is only a few weeks long, so you have to go when the “getting is good.” According to some of the websites that I’d visited, the official season goes from the end of May through the beginning of June, although the “downstate” season occurs a little earlier. When looking online for information on recipes and such, I ran across the following site: (www.superiorsights.com/recreation/morelmushrooms/morel.html). A very user-friendly site, it recommends contacting your local Chamber of Commerce for the latest on the unofficial ‘hunting’ season.

When searching the terrain for morels, you must take caution and know what you’re looking for. Finding a morel is so rewarding, yet there are different types of mushroom that can cause anything from skin irritation to allergic reactions, so be sure to know what you’re looking for before you go out looking for them.

My sister says the best time to go is in the morning after a fresh rain and high temperatures, the muggier the better. We had gone after a full day of fun in the sun, freshly sunburned and exhausted from the humidity. The amount of mosquitoes that we encountered was beyond my threshold, as having mosquito bites on a sunburn is WAY overrated. I bailed on the last location we were to visit, as the bugs were just too much for my daughter and I to endure.

Morel hunters are quite unique in that we love to tell others about all of the tasty treats we find, yet we guard the locations like a pirate guarding their treasure. The more people that know about a location, the heavier the foot traffic and the harder it is to locate the strategically placed mushrooms. Of all of the places that we went to, we were sworn to secrecy about the locations, and it makes sense!

Searching for morels in our beautiful little slice of heaven that is Marquette County (and surrounding areas) is a very rewarding experience. Even if you’re not a mushroom fan, according to some, the hunt is more exciting than the end result, anyway. If you’re looking for a great activity in our area, pack yourself a picnic-AND MOSQUITO REPELLANT-and prepare to have hours and hours of fun. Good luck to you!

by Maggie J Shepeard

Maggie J. Shepeard lives, works and plays in Marquette, Michigan with her husband and four amazing children, ages 10-18. She’s been an avid writer since the moment she first picked up a writing utensil. Non-fiction novels are her specialty, but she can see a storyline in everything and everywhere that she looks. Often working under the pen name, “Kathryn Lee,” she’s had one book published and is under contract to complete two more before year’s end. She’s a full- time student at Northern Michigan University, in Marquette, with a Major in Multimedia Journalism and a Minor in Writing. She’s taken every English and Writing class that she can, but still learns something new with every new subject. Maggie enjoys traveling and camping with her family and looks at everything is life as an adventure. She’s a die-hard Green Bay Packer fan, and she can be found every Sunday (during the season) rooting for her team. Maggie is a “Yooper” all the way, and is originally from Powers, Michigan, although she’s also lived in both Cadillac and Escanaba, Michigan before finding her permanent home on the pristine shores of Lake Superior, right here in Marquette. To see more of Maggie’s work, or to reach her via email, please click the link below.

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