Wild Foraging - Morels, Fiddlehead Ferns, and Medicinals

I have to admit that I have terrible luck when it comes to morel hunting.  My husband and I can never seem to find the right elevation at the right time so we come back with maybe two.  Very sad!  But we like being up in the mountains so it's fun just to go up and ditz around.

A friend of mine however, has been morel hunting and wild foraging for years.  She is a botanist and outdoors woman and we made a date to go out morel hunting together.

Boy there sure is a difference in having an experienced person around! As you can see I did really well, but my friend got twice as many morels as I did.  We also picked a nice amount of fiddle head ferns to eat and several medicinals for my friend who has a health condition and knows the uses and preparation of the plants that can help.

Other things I tried on the march was sheep's sorrel, which is a sour salad type green.  It was very delicious and lemony.  I also got to try miners lettuce which was young and sweet.  We probably hiked a good 7 miles, a good amount of it up vertical hills!

 I had so much fun as we talked about our families, medicinal and food uses of the plants around us, and about life in general.  I learned a great deal too as she pointed out plant after plant and its uses.  I love being in the mountains and we saw so many beautiful things.  Although as I told her, the problem with morel hunting is your always looking down so you miss much of the beauty around you.  It was the most lovely spring day with sunshine but not too hot.  Here is the tiny-est little birds nest I found.  It was as small as a teacup.  That night we had morel rice pilaf, sautéed morels, fiddle head ferns, and trout we had caught and frozen.  So as they say BEST...DAY...EVER!