The Pikes Peak Mycological Society has many members-only perks. One of them is our forays.
A foray is a foraging and learning adventure that takes place in different locations throughout southern Colorado. The volunteers who lead our forays are experts and are there to help with mushroom ID and to answer your questions. Upon paying your membership dues, you receive a welcome email with a password that you need to access the Foray page on our website. Purchase your membership here.
Behind The Scenes
Board members scout hunting areas regularly in search of good places to find mushrooms. When an area with an abundance of fungi is located, a foray is planned. It is typically announced on Facebook that there is an upcoming foray. An email is also sent to members letting you know. Sometimes emails from PPMS get automatically filtered to spam, so be sure to allow our emails to go to your inbox. We use signup.com for our members to register for the forays. There is a limited amount of space and sign ups are first come, first serve. With the dry conditions and sporadic rain storms of the front range, forays are usually planned with very little notice, especially during the height of the season beginning in mid to late July and into August.
The evening before the planned foray, the meeting location is posted on our website and on the signup.com page. Be sure to map the location ahead of time. If you’re unsure of where the meeting place is, clarify as soon as possible. The morning of the foray is not the ideal time to do this, as the foray leaders are also getting prepared to go. If you wait until the last minute, you may not get a reply in time.
We understand that everyone has a lot going on in their lives and that foray dates and times do not work for everyone all the time. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to modify meeting times to accommodate one or two people, but we have forays as often as we can, so you can always come to the next one!
When everyone has arrived at the meeting spot, we carpool to the foray location. Forays usually are 2-4 hours. We set a time to meet back at the parking area for identifying and showing off our finds.
Essential items to bring with you are:
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Dogs are welcome, as long as they are leashed and under control at all times. Kids are also welcome, with or without a leash. Kids always have a blast at the forays and are excellent hunters. Sometimes, a 4×4 is recommended to get to certain areas. If you don’t have one, let us know and we can assist in finding you a carpool buddy.
It is encouraged to pick up trash that you see while out in the woods. We must all do our part to protect nature and preserve the mushroom habitats. Early spring hunts require that you purchase a fishing license to enter public lands. Get one online here.
Forays are a great way to learn more about fungi from seasoned experts and a place for members to get to know each other. Your membership fees help our club continue to grow and pay our expenses for meeting rooms, speakers and more. As a true non-profit organization every dollar goes back into the club. Board members are all volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering, email info@pikespeakmyc.org. We hope to see you at our next foray!