When: Saturday, October 26, 2024

Time: 10:30am-2:30pm

Where:  TBD – a short and easy trail within 30 mins of Hope*exact location will be emailed to you a few days prior to the program

Cost: $125/person​

(Youth under 18 must be accompanied by a guardian)

For more information or questions, please contact Tunde

at info@hopemountain.org or 604-869-1274

Join Hope Mountain Centre and mushroom specialist Carl Rönkä to learn about the rotten world of wild mushrooms! 

High-value gourmet food, or deadly poison? More than just food for humans and wildlife, mushrooms are a key element of our forests. Did you know that fungi sustain healthy habitats in a forest ecosystem? They are so helpful to trees, but they don’t work for free.

Come and join us for a forest walk where you’ll learn all about this, and how to identify the beautiful and colourful mushrooms that appear in the Cascade Mountain range in autumn.

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Price Includes:

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• Mushroom specialist sharing their knowledge

• Experienced guides certified in first aid

• Hot chocolate and a light snack

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Physical Demand:

The trail will likely be approximately 2 km with minimal elevation gain, and the walk will be done at a slow pace with many stops to observe and discuss our surroundings. The trail is a mix of gravel, dirt with large roots and rocks, and wooden boardwalk which can be muddy and slippery when wet. Waterproof footwear with a good grip is highly recommended.

Please be aware that our programs run regardless of weather conditions, unless we determine that it will affect the safety of participants.

Itinerary:

Saturday, October 26, 2024

• 10:30AM Meet at the trailhead parking lot for check-in and introductions. Participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from the trailhead

• 11:00AM Walk begins

• 1:00PM   Lunch on the trail (please bring your own lunch, snacks and water)

• 2:30PM   Arrive back at vehicles and depart

Be aware that times are approximate. Start and end times may vary depending on the speed of the group, weather conditions, etc.

What to bring:

Whenever you are hiking, you should always carry all of The Essentials 

MINIMUM REQUIRED

• Your own lunch

• High-energy snack food

• Water (2 litres per person)

• Daypack to carry items

• Hiking boots or sturdy runners

• Warm clothes and rain gear in case of inclement weather

ALSO RECOMMENDED

• Sunglasses, sun hat, sun block

• Mushroom ID book (recommended David Aurora’s Mushrooms Demystified)

• Notebook

• Camera

Meet Your Guides

Carl Rönkä Mushroom Expert

Carl Ronka first started getting passionate about fungi in 2005, continuously expanding his knowledge and interest from edibles, to medicinal, and entheogenic fungi. His first foraging class was in 2012 and he has steadily grown into a local foraging expert, now organizing ecological cleanup and restoration work in the Metro Vancouver region. He facilitates daytime foraging, and also florescent wildlife night hikes throughout the year. You can learn more about him on Instagram @evolutionarylife 

Kristine Perez de Leon Trip Leader

Kristine’s number one passion in life is mountain adventure. She would spend every waking moment outdoors if she could. Hiking, backpacking, trail running, mountaineering, rock climbing, paddleboarding, backcountry skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking - if it’s an outdoor mountain sport, you can bet she’s done it and loves it. In the past few years, Kristine completed a 55km ultra trail marathon, a 9-day backpacking thru-hike, summited hundreds of BC’s most magnificent peaks, completing many of these adventures solo. Kristine has previously worked as a snowboard instructor in Whistler, as a primate and forest conservation manager in Nigeria, a PNW wildlife education director and hiking community platform founder in Vancouver, and as HMCOL’s Executive Director since 2021. She is certified with Remote First Aid and has her AST1. Kristine is thrilled to share her knowledge, experience and passion for mountain exploration with program participants