The forest in turn is home to a wide assortment of animals. On a hike up the mountain, one might encounter black bears, bobcats, cougars and many species of birds, frogs, and salamanders. All of which are dependent on the forest for things like nesting, denning and food. Some of BC's biggest black bears reside on Mt. Elphie, often feeding on the many berries and mushrooms right through the mild winters.

Elphinstone might be best known for it's mushrooms. The forest is one of Canada's most diverse with mushrooms. It contains many rare species of fungus, including Tricholoma appium, which was unknown to North America until it was discovered on Elphie several years ago.

Unfortunately, Mount Elphinstone has been threatened by logging for many years. Local residents have rallied together to help protect the forest and have been fighting for a proposed 1500-hectare ecological reserve of which 150 hectares have become a reality so far..
To get more information on how to help the Elphinstone forest, please click here.

I was introduced to Mount Elphinstone after deciding to take a trip to the Sunshine Coast one fall. I had started doing some research on the attractions the area had to offer and I was particularly interested in the hunting of gourmet mushrooms that I'd heard was autumn pastime for many of the local of the west coast.

An online search led me to a site created by Captain Max Mushroom, a Sunshine Coast enviromental figure. I contacted him and not only did he provide some great information about the area, but he also offered to meet up with us when we arrived there.

	We arrived at the Sunshine Coast early in October and after a short rest and a look around we contacted Max. Shortly after meeting up with him, he started to show us around the area. The area was very quiet and interesting with all the beautiful scenery that the British Columbia west coast is known for
Some of Captn Max's elves who inhabit the forest, showing off there dwelling

One of the many Shelflike mushrooms that grow everywhere in the forests of Mt. Elphie

The next few days where spent trekking around the area, much of it spent on Mt. Elphie. We where introduced to a amazing forest which included some old growth. The most spectacular part of this was the rainbow color assortment of mushrooms which littered the ground in every direction. I had never seen so many different types of mushrooms in such a small area. With Max's help, we soon gathered an assortment of gourmet mushrooms which where cooked up for a mushrooms feast that night. We also managed to find one Matsutake (Pine mushroom), a highly sought after gourmet and medicinal mushroom that is shipped to Japan.

Mushrooms we gathered from Mt.Elphinstone.They included Chanterelles, Gem-studded Puffballs, Angel wings, Boletes, and Jelly Tooths

Unfortunately, our travel plans soon made us leave the sunshine coast. But, I will always have memories of the Elphinstone forest and the mushrooms that colored it. I would recommend that anyone who traveling through the west coast of Canada, to check out the Sunshine Coast and the Elphinestone forest. The mountain offers a variety of hiking and amazing scenery

Elves standing in the old growth Forest of Mt.Elphinstone

Captain Max Mushroom's Den
Mount Elphinstone Living forest

To contact the designer of this site please click here