New format and options to register for wild mushroom classes and hunts:

     I’ve been doing this for quite some time now as I created this club in 1999 and started doing guided hunts in 2001. I haven’t even recently tallied up how many total people attended over the years, or even tallied up exactly how many actual events that I have hosted. I’m sure it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 4500 people that attended my events, and probably around 400 actual guided hunts in about 30 different states and Canada. It is my calling and my true passion to share my knowledge with everybody that wants to learn all about forging wild edibles, mushrooms and plants, teaching everyone how to identify, how to find them, and how to cook them, and everything in between! I get my enjoyment watching people’s faces and their excitement when they find the big motherload. Adult Easter egg hunting at its best! I have connections all over the United States and actually many countries as well with local people that often help out on these events, and provide very private and spectacular hunting locations. So, actually I sacrifice these locations that have absolutely the best hunting conditions and success, and where I could have went and hunted myself and picked many mushrooms. You never know what might be over the next hill or on the next log. I will never get tired of it. I really want to do many more events each year and in different locations and as much as possible.

    I certainly am very much aware of how the world is currently, and all of the concerns that I have, and am sure that you have as well. With inflation making groceries double what they were, gasoline is higher, everything too high now, and it puts everyone in a stressful financial situation. The pandemic nearly destroyed me but I have prevailed trying to get back what I had going before it and even make it much better. Taking this into consideration, I’ve decided to do a whole different format  on registrations for my new foray’s  coming up in 2024, and making it affordable for everyone to attend. I had to cancel a few events this past spring and summer due to lack of registrations. I will still do an event as long as my expenses are covered such as travel expenses, gas, lodging, food, and other expenses. By greatly reducing costs to attend all of my upcoming events and making it affordable to everyone, this will ensure that most all guided hunts that I have planned will have plenty of people attending to cover my costs. I would rather teach and guide 30 to 35 people each time as opposed to 10 or 15 at a much higher price, and occasionally not having enough registrations to cover costs and canceling the event, and this just kills me. So, when you look over the newly added events for next spring which I am working on and adding soon, even some today, you will see that there are many options for you to consider. Previously, all of my events were a package deal for the entire weekend which included a nice picnic lunch, drinks, and the big Feast dinner at the end. Many times people can only get one day off work so I’m going to have options of one day or the two days in registrations, and then an option to add the nice picnic lunch for those that want it, and finally the option to enjoy the big Feast dinner on the last day. In a nutshell, a person could come and attend and learn a lot for just one day, and not add any extras, for about $65 per person. The cost to attend both days will be $100 per person, which is a savings of $30. For those that choose to include my nice picnic lunch and drinks will be an additional $15 per person. Finally, for those that wish to participate in the big feast on the last day, it will be an additional $35 per person. This makes the package price for all inclusive options for the entire weekend at $150 per person, which is $100 or more cheaper than previous foray registrations. For those of you that are blessed financially, and are able to pay more to help support my endeavors, anything extra you wish to do would be greatly appreciated and will be used wisely. These costs will be slightly higher in particular areas such as the west coast and Pacific Northwest and the Northeast as I will be flying and renting a car which makes my cost go up considerably. But it will still be way cheaper than before and hopefully affordable to everybody. I trust that these changes I’m making now will have a major positive impact for those attending and for me personally and the mushroom club. I am also completely open to anyone’s suggestions and ideas as I am just one person and can’t come up with everything! LOL.

     I am still offering lifetime foray memberships, where you can attend as many events as you wish each year, and indefinitely. When I get to a certain point, I will have to cap off this option but still have room for plenty more currently for those it might be interested. The cost for this special membership is $1,000 per person or $1,500 per couple. I can even work with you and take payment plans… I have a few lifers that have become like family and in my inner circle, some have attended more than 35 events over the years. Offering everyone many more locations, and having summer and more fall events , there may be as many as 35 events in one year. I have connections in many countries as well and hope to put a few of these into action as soon as I can. I have friends in Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and even in South Africa where I was invited to hunt morels there in August! I also have a connection in southern Chile and they actually have a morel mushroom festival in early December each year because that’s when spring occurs in that region! So, I need everybody that’s willing to help and plan to attend events in the future to spread the word and let’s grow a bigger and better mushroom Club and have much more fun and go to many more places. You can talk to your friends and family and persuade them to attend a hunt, or share some links on your social media pages. This would help things immensely! I thank you in advance.

     Also, I prefer to have someone local that can help at each for a location, or maybe even have some private land to hunt on. I will offer you many perks as I have done this for those in the past that have helped. If you have land in certain areas that I’m wanting to add new locations for guided hunts. Other states that I wish to offer a mushroom foray are Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina, some new areas in the Northeast United States, Wisconsin, Texas, Florida for summer mushrooms, Mississippi, Arkansas, New Mexico, and I’ve always wanted to have a foray in New Mexico. If you live in any of these locations and would like to help plan an event, and specially if you happen to have connections for land to hunt on, please call me at 478-217 -5200, or email me at chrismathe@aol.com. I will make it worth your while and give you lots of goodies! I hope to see you soon on a guided hunt.

Happy Hunting, and I’ll see you in the woods! – Chris Matherly