adventure
On the Hunt
Foraging for dinner in western Oregon written by Felisa Rogers
FROM LEFT Seal Rock, south of Newport, is a good spot to collect California mussels. The mussels cling to the rocks with silky filaments.
WITH ITS SHELTERED COVES and temperate rainforests, western Oregon is a foragers’ paradise. Fall and spring get the most press, but winter is the best time of year to forage for mussels, and several varieties of local mushrooms are hardy enough to withstand frosty nights. The enterprising scavenger can put food on the table all year—provided you don’t mind getting up early and getting wet. On a cold November morning, I woke up at dawn to drive to the coast. My mission? Combat the winter blues by foraging for dinner. Armed with pliers, a utility knife, gloves, a bucket and my shellfish foraging permit ($10 for residents, good for a year), I parked at Seal Rock, south of Newport. To make access easier, I’d planned my expedition for a minus tide, which occur a few times a month. The panorama of sea and sky nearly took my breath away. The extra-low tide revealed a paradise of pools, and the rocks glistened with the blue-black shells of millions of California mussels. 98 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2018
Mussels cling to the rocks with silky filaments called byssus threads, which are so strong and resilient that scientists are trying to synthesize the material for use as a marine adhesive. A knife is necessary to pry them from their colonies. Though they ranged from the size of my pinky nail to the length of my hand, I looked for shells about the size of my thumb— bigger mussels can develop an iodine taste. I dropped a few into my bucket and moved to the next rock, taking care not to harvest too many from one spot. Despite their amazing grip, the mollusks rely on their neighbors for stability and protection from the relentless surf. In twenty minutes, my bucket held dinner. Covering my haul with a layer of wet seaweed, I paused to take it all in—the surf
