Jing | Deep Mountain Mushroom Picking

Secret Mountain Forests Around Dali

The route is not fixed. I plan to visit different places each week for mushroom picking. Every destination will be carefully selected by me, and I’ll only choose places that I personally like.

About Mushrooms:
In general, mushrooms are much more abundant on the deep mountain routes than on Cangshan, and fewer people go to these areas to pick them. However, the growth of mushrooms is unpredictable, and the varieties we find on each trip are always different. Therefore, I hope participants in the event can come with an open mind.

### Beyond Mushrooms:
In each unique secret location, we will also encounter special plants that you don’t usually see in the ordinary forests.

Event Schedule:
- **9:00 AM**: Meet at **Simple Stone Cafe** (a local place) and then we’ll drive to the destination in my van. It will take about 2 hours to get there.
- After arriving, we will hike into the forest. The hike is usually no longer than 20 minutes before we start picking mushrooms.
- The distance for mushroom picking depends on individual stamina. If you get tired, you can sit and rest in the forest and enjoy a picnic, while others continue the search.
- After collecting mushrooms, I will give a brief explanation, and then we’ll cook the edible mushrooms into a mushroom chicken soup or mushroom noodles back at the campsite, or we might eat at a local farmhouse (depending on the route we take that day).
- We will return to the Dali Old Town area around **6:00 PM**.

Why Experience Deep Mountain Mushroom Picking?

This year marks my fourth year picking mushrooms on Cangshan. From my initial unfamiliarity with Cangshan and the mushrooms there, to curiosity, to fondness, and now to a complete understanding and familiarity, my relationship with Cangshan has transformed over the years. This gradual change is a bit like falling in love. I can’t imagine having a four-year relationship with one person, and similarly, after four years of mushroom picking in the same place, the freshness starts to fade.

I want to rediscover that initial sense of wonder that came with mushroom picking. So this summer, I’m saying goodbye to Cangshan and heading to deeper mountains, to pick mushrooms all summer long.

In the past, because the summer was so busy and we lacked manpower, our mushroom picking team could only organize one or two deep mountain trips after the summer. We all cherished these events like a mushroom ritual. With hearts full of anticipation, we ventured into a fresh forest, where we found new and unfamiliar mushrooms.

Mushroom picking in the deep mountains is like an unknown journey. Every trip brings some level of surprise and discovery. This is likely the charm of the "unknown."

We often seek "familiarity" and "stability," but these two things are also the ones that cause us to lose our ability to feel things deeply.