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.

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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.
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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.
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A pretty little gray and white shelf fungus. The stick it was
growing on was only about an inch in diameter.
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The three Paxillus involutus lined up nicely in front of
a big old tree.
Paxillus at Denny Creek
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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