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Living a Dream - Picking Matsutake Mushrooms
Masaya is a very persistent fellow! He has been on a mushroom tour with me before, but he didn’t quite get what he was hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they had a great time. But he was hoping to pick some Matsutake Mushrooms on it. But we were in the wrong habitat.
What are Matsutake mushrooms? Also known as Pine Mushrooms,
they are large white mushrooms that are prized by the Japanese for thier flavour and thier smell. They have the most incredible sweet spicy scent. I love just smelling them. 
Anyway, Masaya didn’t give up. He asked again last year about a Matsutake tour. I told him that there wasn’t that much of a demand for this kind of tour and that the ground where they grow around here was very steep. So this year, he offered to bring some friends with him. I told him that most of the areas I used to pick in are not accessible any more. However, there was one area where I thought we might find them. I had never picked there and couldn’t guarantee anything. but he and his friends went for it. And they did really well. They found between three and four pounds of them. Mostly grade 4. We also met some others who were out doing the same thing as us. They said they were just doing it as a favour to some people that one of them works for. Apparently they send temple wood over to Japan.
People who pick Pine Mushrooms are very protective of their patches. Pines used to fetch big dollars. It wasn’t unusual for a good picker who knew where to find them to earn $2,000/day! That was when the price for the best quality was $80/lb or more. Now, However they are only around $8/lb for the top quality.
Here on Vancouver Island they can be found on the west side on the flats. But in the interior of the island they grow only under dry old growth forests dominated by Douglas fir. And these stands are quickly dissapearing as the last of the commercially available forest is logged.
May 3, 2010 Update: Due to an increasing interest in this experience, Rainbird Excursions is putting on another Masutake Tour. It will be on 16 0ctober, 2010. Contact Rainbird Excursions for more details.