We certainly started off confidently, decked out in our finest mushrooming gear, and headed up the mountain in search of puffballs and verpa. But things quickly came to a halt when we found our favorite spots still quite damp from melting snow and lacking the blue flowers that typically signal that all is well in the mushroom fields. Undaunted, we decided to randomly stop at a couple of new-to-us spots and investigate what treasures these locations might hold.
We pulled off to the side of the road with the intention of me meandering back into the forests lining the roadway in order to check for current and future possibilities. Steven inquired: Shall I turn the car around while you're gone? I replied: Sure, great idea. That's when things started to go amiss.
Soon I began to question whether I should flag down a passing vehicle and ask the occupants if they'd seen our Honda CRV. If so, was that risky behavior?
Yet, after 45 minutes, it became clear that I had to take action. At that moment, as good fortune would have it, a white pickup marked "Fire" approached, and I quickly flagged it down. Helpfully, the passenger commented: We just passed a red Honda a mile or so back and wondered why it was parked there. Thanks to these good Samaritans, within a few minutes, Steven and I were reunited, wiser about the need to successfully reunite in the future.
Needless to say, he was both chagrined and anxious. After all, he'd been sitting in the car, worried, not understanding why Mary was taking so much time exploring the area. He'd even been honking the horn 3 times rapidly in succession, our trusted whistle signal to tell each other "Let's go" and concerned as to why I hadn't responded.
Now, what's the lesson here? All's well that ends well? Perhaps, but we think that the larger lesson may be that when you have no way to communicate with another person in a remote area, be super cautious. Clearly identify the meeting point. Even if you think you know the exact spot, take precautions. For example, hang a strip of flagging tape. Or, simply decide to meet at a mile post marker. That would have prevented all of this; despite the fact that we felt very familiar with the area, Steven had simply mistaken the place he stopped for the one where he'd dropped me off. He had to go a long ways in order to find a good spot to turn around, and got confused. That's the lesson learned by two experienced mushroomers, and we're happy to share it with you!