Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Mushrooms! The Cottonwood Trail #1344

Trip Report -September 4, 1997

By Marty Vyn Boennighausen

If MUSHROOMS are your thing, this is the trail for you! Go to the Alvarado campground and drive past the Alpine lodge. Continue up the road past the dumpster and past the campsites. At the top of this road is a turn around. Hikers can park here for the day without paying the picnic fee normally charged if you park in a campsite.

This morning my husband Arthur, Shogun, our 1 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and I headed for the Cottonwood Trail, which is 1 ¼ miles south on the Rainbow Trail. We started up the trail to the Rainbow Trail at 8:35am. In ½ mile we turned left or south onto the Rainbow Trail. The trail is a classic woodsy trail. We enjoyed the coolness provided by the shade from all of the trees.

At 9:05am we were at the bridge that crosses Hiltman Creek. The creek was running so we took a few moments to soak in the beauty of the sights and sounds of rushing water.

There are times along the trail when we could get a peek through the trees at the valley floor below and look across to the Wet Mountains.

At 9:20am we were at the junction to the Cottonwood Trail #1344. The trail is a little steep as they all seem to be at the beginning.

This is a good trail for dogs and horses because there are plenty of places to stop and get a drink from Cottonwood Creek. Also, no motor vehicles are allowed on this trail.

I guess because there is so much moisture along this trail, there are almost an unbelievable amount and variety of mushrooms. I know almost nothing about mushrooms, but it was obvious that we were seeing a multitude of varieties. One that everyone can pick out is the Amanita muscaria, also called the "Sacred Mushroom". The gaudy, exotic beauty of this mushroom is unmistakable and unforgettable with it's brilliant "orangy"-red color with white spots. One legend tells that this mushroom grows where drops of Christ's blood fell as He walked to Calvary. There were also other mushrooms that were tan, white, mustard, or brown. Unfortunately, we did not have a mushroom book along with us, so I am reluctant to call out the names of any others, as I would not be sure of giving you the correct name. At any rate, the great variety of sizes and shapes was fascinating. Looks like it is prime time for the mushrooms.

The trail also had little blueberry bushes, which were probably mountain gooseberry - jelly or preserves anyone? A larger bush with long green leaves and tiny red berries may have been the baneberry, which is not edible for humans, but looks like something the bears would like.

We had our camera with us this trip, so we made frequent stops along the way. There were still plenty of wild flowers to enjoy.

At 10:10am we reached an opening with a spectacular view of Horn Peak. Here the trail flattens, but only for a short distance. It was a very comfortable 60 degrees F. We commented that this will be a great trail to return to in a few weeks when the Aspen begin to turn gold.

At 11am we reached another opening. We were looking at three huge, majestic mountains making a horse shoe in front of us. It is my understanding that this trail ends in a clearing at the base of these mountains in something less than a mile. We had friends coming over for BBQ'd chicken that night, so we decided we had better turn around at this point. We were back down the trail and heading home by 1:30pm.

Note Beyond: These notes are simply our experiences and time frames.