Mushrooms National Park

Yep, I’ve decided to just rename the North Cascades National Park. While the Cascades are beautiful and all, it is the mushrooms that makes this place special. Even for a guy like me who doesn’t care in the slightest to put that fungus in my mouth, the shrooms turn a standard forest hike into something special. I recognized this when I passed through the North Cascades exactly five years ago too, but for Kerri this place is even more magical.

Our original plan was to stay a night at the campground and get in a hike somewhere in the park the following day as we passed over the mountains towards Winthrop. But, as usual, plans change. With the campground closed where we were hoping to stay at, we decided to just do the hike and complete the drive over all in the same afternoon. We didn’t hike far, only a few miles out and back on the Thunder Creek Trail, but we spent hours out there. It wasn’t the hike as much as it was finding the next little patch of mushrooms for Kerri to decide if they were worth of shoving into a bag and filling the van’s fridge. We both took our time, eyes aimed down at the forest floor, and just taking in all variety of mushrooms out here. T’was a pleasant afternoon.