OUTDOOR Tales and Trails

BY DAVE BECK

Another season has quietly come and gone just like the leaves falling from the big old maple tree. Actually, the trees giving up all of their leaves is the indicator that the season is ovcially over. I’m talking about ginseng hunting season and sadly I made it out only one time.

Ginseng is a valuable root that can fetch hundreds of dollars per pound. It’s three (sometimes four) leaf clusters are very distinct yet resemble so many other leaves and plants that it can be hard to find unless the red berries are visible. The berries are the exact shade of red as ripe Jack in the Pulpit berries but are not shaped the same. The ginseng berries are shaped very similar to the giant bean on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. (Though nobody standing near me looking at The Bean had the same thought.)

The fall season is my hectic time of year and if it were up to me, I would extend the season cutting a month or so out of winter in order to fully participate in all of the fall options. I mean, if you’re trying to musky fish, bow hunt for white-tailed deer, hit up Red Wing for walleyes, archery hunt in Colorado, grouse hunt, etc., etc., something has got to give. In my case, ginseng hunting took back seat even though I enjoy tromping around the woods looking for the plants.

So why do I like ginseng hunting? I guess the best way to answer is to say that finding a ginseng plant is exactly like finding a shed white-tailed antler, or a huge patch of morel mushrooms, or ramps (wild onions). In other words, it’s about the hunt and the reward is laying your hands on something that no other human being in the whole world has touched. That might sound funny, but it is a natural high. Just watch someone find a big shed antler or a huge morel mushroom. Chances are you will see them hoist it over their head like it’s the Lombardi Trophy. Ok, maybe no one else does that, but I do.

On my one ginseng outing I set out for an old hot spot. I’ve never loaded up with pounds and pounds but it’s usually enough to cover my gas and then some. It’s a blend of a few pine trees but mostly hardwoods and it’s an easy walk to get to. In the first 10 minutes of the hunt, I came across a plant that was already laying on the ground, probably a result of our dry summer/fall. Instead of digging the plant I mentally marked the spot. I figure leaving one plant for next year is better than digging up only one plant this year.

I moved along the hillside and above the swamp but didn’t find any more plants. I was in the right spot but at the wrong time. The dry weather shortened the season. I should have been hunting this spot when I was hunting in Colorado, which is why Fall needs to be longer.

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