Jason Dunseith, Tim Slack and Heath Terwilliger have been hunting morel mushrooms most of their lives. And they have found lots of them over the years. But they never stumbled upon a patch like they did Sunday.
When they were done they had collected 623 of the delectable morsels — 20 pounds of them — in about 90 minutes at a location in southern Highland County.
“I’ve been hunting them since I was probably 10 years old,” Slack, a 35-year-old Lynchburg resident, said. “In the springtime that’s what we do. I still can’t quit smiling. I can’t believe we got that lucky. It’s just crazy.”
Slack said the trio walked for about two hours before they came across a patch where mushrooms were everywhere.
“A lot of people seen them and couldn’t believe we found them in one spot,” Slack said. “It was insane. They were everywhere. Once we came upon them I was walking over them and stepping on them, and the people behind me were laughing and picking up the ones I missed.”
Dunseith and Terwilliger are both 35 to 40 years, Slack said. He said Dunseith is from Lynchburg and that Terwilliger is from Mowrystown.
The mushrooms were divided up between the three and another friend, Slack said. He said some people offered to buy some of them, but they ended up sharing them with family with friends. He said the plan is to eat them.
“I’ve found big ones and I’ve found lots of them before, but never like that at one time,” Slack said.
Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522.
