Modern Foragers
There is nothing more exciting than connecting with other people who share similar passions and hobbies.
This community was started as an effort to connect people. While many things are sacred in the world of wild food forage (especially GPS coordinates :), one thing is usually true – we love to share our experiences and excitement for the hunt!
Self proclaimed “mushroom geeks”, Trent and Kristen Blizzard, split their time between Reedsport, Oregon and Cable, Wisconsin. They have been trekking the woods with their crazy doodles, Benzie and Lu, mostly with mushrooms in mind for just over 10 years now. At first a hobby, the hunt for fungi quickly became nothing short of an obsession for these two.
In 2020, they left a long history in Colorado and relocated to Wisconsin and Oregon. Now snowbirds, they spend summers in Wisconsin and winters on the central Oregon coast, enjoying all the mushrooms the rain brings in the fall. They tend to follow mushrooms seasonally and are lucky to enjoy yearly hunting expeditions in CA, CO, WI, OR and Western burn sites. They are not mycologists but love to utilize the science behind edible mushrooms to help them locate prime terrain.
Kristen was introduced to wild edibles and mushrooms via a science center in Colorado. Local friends helped to spread the enthusiasm and when she met Trent, they grew their love of hiking and hunting together. She thinks of mushrooming as hiking with purpose, and loves all of the peripheral benefits – time in the forest, travel and exploration of new myco terrain, connection with myco friends and community members, and even exercising those nutty dogs.
Trent has taken his passion for fungi to the next level as the sitting President of the North American Mycological Association. He enjoys engaging with the community on a regular basis and supporting mycological societies around the country. He is also a master of all things Google, including maps. Trent is the reason these two are so successful at scouting new locations and regularly finding the bounty they seek.
They are the creators of www.modern-forager.com, digital burn morel maps, and the book Wild Mushrooms: A Cookbook and Foraging Guide. Their fondest wish is that in some small way, they can help you discover the same joys of nature that they cherish.
