Cataloochee Camping Foray
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
July 29-31, 2011
Sue Brown/Ed Mayer Foray Leaders

Seventeen club members set up camp at the Cataloochee group campground on Friday afternoon anticipating an active weekend of forays and socializing at this annual club event in the Smoky Mountains. After the crowded camping conditions last year, it was great to have the entire group camp all to ourselves, with 14 tents set up around the meadow. On Friday afternoon campers forayed around the campground, along the river and entrance road. Campers included the club’s mycologist Coleman McCleneghan. On Saturday, 10 more members joined the campers for the day’s forays.

Participants broke into 4 groups. Charlotte led the first on the Rough Fork trail at the head of the valley. This group turned back a little short of the intended distance after hikers informed them that there was a mother bear with cubs a short distance further along the trail. Sue and Coleman led a second group on the Big Fork Ridge trail up to the quarantine enclosure where Elk were first kept when they were reintroduced to the park. The third group, led by Ginger, forayed along the both sides of the river around the old school house and the beginning of the Palmer Creek trail. Finally, Ed led a group that leapfrogged past Ginger’s group, to start foraying half a mile up the Palmer Creek trail. The foray lasted from 9:30AM- to noon, after which everyone returned to the campsite to display and identify their finds, relax and enjoy a picnic lunch. The afternoon foray began at 2:30. Charlotte and Coleman took a small group to explore an old road bed at the beginning of the paved access road into the Cataloochee Valley. Ed and Sue led a second group along the Little Cataloochee trail that begins on the dirt road leading to the Big Creek Campground. At the end of the day, a delicious pot luck dinner was shared by campers and day trippers.

Despite relatively dry conditions, an impressive array of mushrooms were displayed. Charlotte, Tom, Ken, Arnie, Ginger and others helped Coleman with identification. Altogether, 96 species were identified, of which seven were new records for the club. Sunday morning Coleman led a walk around the tables pointing out the characteristic features used to identify many of the finds, with special focus on the ascomycetes such as cup and club fungi, and cordyceps. In agreement with the clubs arrangement with the park service, all identified specimens had a GPS location so our finds can be added to the park’s biodiversity data base.

For the most part the weather cooperated but an unwelcome shower on Sunday, during the table walk, sent us home with wet camping gear. All in all, it was a very successful weekend.

Species found: