The Mushroom Hunt and the Kings English

The Mushroom Hunt and the Kings English

King Bolete (Boletus Edilus) was the days aim, at least to find as many as possible in a short time so we could cook a bunch of them at “base camp” and enjoy the days harvest. Apparently they are among the best mushrooms that can be found during picking season.

Mike Colpitts, Josh’s dad, met up with us at his restaurant on Tuesday evening for dinner, a bottle of wine, some story telling and a short bit a panning for the next days hike-harvest. Wild mushrooms could be intimidating to those who don’t know which ones will kill you and which you can gluttonously eat. Thankfully to us, Josh’s father had become interested in wild mushrooms some twenty years ago and has studied them since in order to understand what he saw on his hikes through the mountains. After a couple a glasses of wine, an immense steak (the first I have had in months), and a beer or two, the planning was finished and all that lied ahead was a wink or two, a morning run at 10,000 feet, and a breakfast of Josh’s mother’s granola.

(a creek bridge on Peak Trail)

After my morning run, and a shower, Josh got up to join me for breakfast and an unwanted photo session in sued. Because we had set the rendezvous for 11 AM at the Steak and Rib, we headed out for the meeting.

I followed Mike up the tree-covered slopes of Baldy Mountain, named so because of the rock filled slopes that you meet after leaving the tree line. He explained to me the coloring of the Boletus – an amber tint – and the way you have to pick it – simply cutting the stem as near the ground as possible, so that the mushroom can regenerate at its stump.

After about an hour or so of the mushroom hunt and a plentiful harvest, Mike (Mr. Colpitts) signaled to Josh and I to start our way to the base camp to reap the rewards of fresh fungus. There were a total of five of us on the trip, two of them being friends of Mikes. Picking the smallest mushrooms because they are of the best flavor and have no maggots in them, mike cleaned and prepared the mushrooms and placed them on his camping stove. With an amazing roast beef, several cheeses, grapes, fresh bread, and bottles of wine, lunch was worthy of a choice restaurant (not unexpected as he is a co-owner of the Steak and Rib in Breckenridge)

As Josh and I arrived at the lunch spot, Mike and his fellow mushroom aficionados were talking with another man with a bit of a Texas Draw. Dale, from St. Angelo, TX wanted to learn as much as he could about the mushrooms of the area. Seventy three years old, he was excited about everything that was going on. He spent six months in Breck, three for the skiing in the winter and three for the hiking in the summer.

“Dale, could we offer you some wine?”

“Could you offer me some wine…? You could always offer me a glass of wine” said with an excited draw and a jump towards the freshly poured glass.

After we all ate some mushrooms, including Dale, conversation turned to the meeting place for their hike on Friday. They always meet at the Steak and Rib. Dale was a little unsure as to where that was.

“You better know where the Steak and Rib is…Mike?”

Mike reintroduces himself to Dale as one of the owners with a friendly handshake and a smile. At this Dale waits pensive for a moment, and does an joyous jig, “that’s the one with the steak stuffed with that, that crab meat?!?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“That’s one of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten. I had some friends come up and they asked if there was anywhere to get a good steak, and I said, ‘got ya covered.’ ”

Sorry not to have a picture of him, but that definite Texan helped fill the campsite with laughter the entire lunch. Just before he went to leave, there was a cheese that Mike used in the sauce for the mushrooms. He reached for the empty box and tore of one of the side that had the cheeses name saying, “I aint to good at the Kings English, I speak Texan, need some help with remembrin’ its name.” Just makes me smile thinking about his zest for life.