The rain was coming down in silver sheets when the first car in our caravan screeched to a stop on a winding Sonoma County road. Before I could pull over behind him, our guide,Steve Conwell, wild-food educator and resident forest storyteller, had already launched himself out of his truck and plunged into the dripping roadside brush.
“There it is!” he shouted, holding up a brilliant red-and-orange mushroom as rain poured off his jacket. “Amanita muscaria, Alice in Wonderland shroom! I had to show you this one.”
His grin, bright and boyish, cut through the storm. And just like that, before we’d even reached the trailhead, the forest delivered her first secret…