Soda Mountain Wilderness

I recently went hunting for mushrooms in a legally designated wilderness area. These areas are scattered around here and there, many of which you may have been to and hadn't even known it. I went looking for black morel mushrooms, which I hadn't heard of until a couple weeks before but I found out that they are actually an expensive food and a hot topic to collect in and around this southern Oregon area.

A small Morel mushroom I found

 This area hosted many native american people for thousands of years including Modoc, Klamath, and Shasta tribes. The 1850's brought new people to the region in search of gold. The biological and geological diversity is a strong point here that can't be matched by wilderness areas much of anywhere else. this is the place where Oregon's eastern desert meets towering fir forests. Some tree species found here are firs and sunlit oak groves as well as open meadows of wildflowers and the always popular morel mushroom. The wildlife too is in abundance with such animals as elk, mountain lions, black bears and a variety of large birds of prey including bald eagles.

Coyote sized pile of bones I found. Lots of bones, lots.

Just off the road where the car was parked. Totally impassible in a car.

I found the above image very much a bummer at first sight but realized it was put in place to end the road and commence the wilderness. If it weren't put here people would be able to drive a vehicle inside the wilderness which, we all know is not permitted. Of all the ways to keep vehicles out, I find this method decent. No fencing or structures needed to be built, no outside materials were scatter the area, etc. Despite having a ugly huge trench dug through, it seems to me as one of the best ways to do what its doing.

Its official

Eating miners lettuce in the wilderness

I was pretty happy that Sean was with us and pointed out miners lettuce. I realize this is not a precious commodity per-say but I have very little knowledge of edible wild plants and won't often pass up free food so this really covered all the bases for me. I'm confident I could get through a day or two in these woods without too much discomfort just eating miners lettuce, there is a bunch of it and has a high water concentration. Survival food!

Resources:

http://www.blm.gov/or/wilderness/sodamountain/

http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/wildView?WID=748

http://www.oregonwild.org/wilderness/wilderness-across-oregon/soda-mountain-wilderness