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Gallatin / Madison Foraging Conditions — ForageIQ

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Gallatin / Madison

5,500–10,500 ft · MT🚗 Directions

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Gallatin NF near Yellowstone. High-elevation spruce-fir and lodgepole. Excellent king bolete territory in the Madison Range. Late snowmelt pushes morel season into summer.

Trees:Lodgepole Pine Engelmann Spruce Douglas Fir

Permit Info →

Updated Aug 27, 4:01 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

# Gallatin/Madison A-Tier: Peak fruiting window, desiccation is the only brake You're sitting in optimal fruiting conditions across nearly 40 species—hedgehogs, milk caps, boletes, and the full Amanita suite are all ramping simultaneously. The 7-day sustained moisture and 1.46" of rain in the last two weeks has pushed every threshold species into the green. The limiting factor is purely desiccation risk at this elevation; once the sun hits exposed south-facing slopes after dawn, you lose 6-8 hours of prime picking window. Watch the next 48 hours closely—if the steady melt trend shifts to accelerating melt or precipitation drops below 0.1" daily, desiccation will tighten fast at this altitude and cull the season shorter than normal. Hedgehog, Sweet Tooth, and Bay Bolete will hang longest; the delicate corals and Jelly Antler will crater first. **Hot tip:** Hunt north-facing slopes and morning before 10 AM—the VWC is marginal enough that afternoon sun will desiccate fruiting bodies faster than usual for August.

Generated by Claude (Anthropic) from the structured weather, soil, and phenology data on this page. The LLM can misread edge cases — treat this as a starting hypothesis, not a guarantee. Always verify conditions on the ground before committing to a long drive.

Foraging Potential75/100

✅Moisture

✅Soil Temp

✅No Freeze

✅No Drought

Precip 7d

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Nearby Camping

Within(4)

WAPITI CABIN

developed

USFS~5.1 mi from center

YELLOW MULE CABIN

developed

USFS~6.7 mi from center

Red Cliff Campground

developed

USFS~7.3 mi from centerFee required/night

Custer Gallatin National Forest

Red Cliff Campground

developed

~7.4 mi from center

⚠ Road Access Notice

Always verify road access is public before following GPS directions to mountain areas. Many forest roads are seasonal, gated, or require 4WD. Dispersed camping follows USFS/BLM rules (typically 14-day limit). Check ranger district offices for current road and campground conditions.

Viable Species

Confidence × Primordia state

MODERATEActivating

Cauliflower MushroomSparassis crispa

soil temp marginal (53°F vs 58°F min, 1/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20

HIGHPrimed

Hedgehog MushroomHydnum repandum

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

MODERATEActivating

ReishiGanoderma tsugae

soil temp marginal (53°F vs 55°F min, 4/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20

HIGHPrimed

Pink-Tipped CoralRamaria botrytis

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Indigo Milk CapLactarius indigo

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Saffron Milk CapLactarius deliciosus

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

MODERATEActivating

ChagaInonotus obliquus

soil temp marginal (53°F vs 55°F min, 4/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20

HIGHPrimed

Panther CapAmanita pantherina

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

MODERATEActivating

Birch BoleteLeccinum scabrum

soil temp marginal (53°F vs 55°F min, 4/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20

HIGHPrimed

Pig's EarsGomphus clavatus

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

MODERATEActivating

Birch PolyporeFomitopsis betulina

soil temp marginal (53°F vs 55°F min, 4/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20

HIGHPrimed

Bleeding ToothHydnellum peckii

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

MODERATEActivating

Red-Capped Scaber StalkLeccinum aurantiacum

soil temp marginal (53°F vs 55°F min, 4/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20

HIGHPrimed

Gypsy MushroomCortinarius caperatus

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

The PrinceAgaricus augustus

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Bay BoleteImleria badia

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Bitter BoleteTylopilus felleus

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Painted BoleteSuillus spraguei

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Chicken-Fat BoleteSuillus americanus

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Shrimp RussulaRussula xerampelina

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

The SickenerRussula emetica

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Short-Stemmed RussulaRussula brevipes

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

MODERATEActivating

Woolly Milk CapLactarius torminosus

soil temp marginal (53°F vs 55°F min, 4/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20

HIGHPrimed

Coker's AmanitaAmanita cokeri

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Deadly WebcapCortinarius rubellus

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Bloody WebcapCortinarius sanguineus

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Bleeding AgaricusAgaricus haemorrhoidarius

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Belted ConkFomitopsis pinicola

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Sweet ToothHydnum umbilicatum

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Jelly AntlerCalocera viscosa

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Red CoralRamaria araiospora

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

MODERATEActivating

Brown Roll-RimPaxillus involutus

soil temp marginal (53°F vs 55°F min, 4/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20

HIGHPrimed

Angel WingsPleurocybella porrigens

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Yellow Fly AgaricAmanita muscaria var. guessowii

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Scaly Wood MushroomAgaricus silvaticus

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

MODERATEActivating

Amethyst DeceiverLaccaria amethystina

soil temp marginal (53°F vs 55°F min, 4/7 days above), today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20

HIGHPrimed

Lobster MushroomHypomyces lactifluorum

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Slippery JackSuillus luteus

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Hawks Wing

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

HIGHPrimed

Amanita Muscaria

All conditions met (soil 53°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.18 VWC, 7d avg 0.20)

Primordia readiness: Cold = mycelium dormant. Activating = soil warming, primordia building. Primed = 5+ sustained warm days at species threshold; fruiting imminent if moisture cooperates. Based on Schmidt 1983 / Mihail 2007.