Sparrow Rapids Campground

What used to be a free boondocking site has become a pay campsite. We discovered this when we went back to use it again. This time, though, the flies and bugs were so bad we turned around to find another spot. The other boondocking site we used to go to nearby has also turned into a pay site. In our opinion, neither site was worth paying for. The first was too buggy and still needed to be cleaned up better, and the second still had a lot of damage from being washed out by the recent flood.

Hopefully these two campsites will be repaired and cleaned up better.

Mushrooms Found Here

There are some images of mushrooms here. The one on the side of the tree is called Climacodon septentrionalis, also known as the Northern Tooth or Oak Bracket. It is edible but tastes woody.

General Characteristics to Know About this Mushroom

• The Underside: True to its name, Climacodon septentrionalis features downward-hanging spines or “teeth” rather than gills or pores.
• Texture and Taste: The flesh is tough and watery when fresh and turns sharply bitter with age, naturally deterring anyone from eating enough of it to encounter gastrointestinal distress.
• Safety Context: While shelf and bracket mushrooms growing on trees should always be identified carefully before consumption, large white-to-cream wood-decaying lookalikes in North American deciduous forests lack deadly compounds like amatoxins or orellanin.

Here are some more mushrooms found on the trail.

The Campground

Here are some images of the campground itself along with some information. Outhouses and fire pits are provided at this site. You can see our friend Cory and Kodie at the campsite.

Trails

Here are some images of the road leading to the campground and the trails found within it. The stairs leading down to the river started well, but then fell into disrepair as you got further down.

The River

Here are some images of the river where you can see a huge (LOL) fish I caught there.