Anyone hunt for this...?

[papa]

I was just curious if anyone hunted roots during the summer, I'm addicted to it just like the rocks. It's like treasure hunting, I love it. The added bonus..you get to sell it for money. Heck I like hunting for roots so much i'd probably do it for free. It's not up yet but a friend of mine needed some seal and I knew where to dig to pull some out this morning. I usually start my season digging ramps for a few weeks 4$ a lb this year, then I move to a mixture of black cohosh, blue cohosh, bloodroot, and wild yams, then towards the middle of summer i hit the goldenseal all the while gps mapping my seng. I also pick up some odds and ends when I come across them , like virginia snakeroot, skunk cabbage, indian turnip, and some others. Then when all the roots are done showing I move to black walnuts, I hunt rocks and scrap metal during the winter, well summer months too if I happen across any.

[Indianasmith]

That's one thing I have never done!!

[lebruce]

Only Seng. here.

[JimFogleman]

Papa, what do you with skunk cabbage?

[papa]

Sell it ! Quik. Thre are many uses, hypertension ,asthma etc. not sure what they use it for after i sell it to a dealer.

[DesertWalker]

I know where there some large bushes of ephedra out in the desert. Is there market for that?

[arrow719]

Originally Posted by DesertWalker

I know where there some large bushes of ephedra out in the desert. Is there market for that?

Hey Dave, being a wood working you should know the answer to this. Several years ago in the benches of Monitor Valley Nevada I found a big knarly burl. It's either pine or juniper, not sure. I have it marked on my GPS. You think it would be worth retrieving some day, or would it be more trouble than it's worth?

[DesertWalker]

The woodturners love those burls, but maybe not from evergreens, maybe Juniper, but not Pine, because of the sap. I used to know an old (older than me..lol) hippie guy that gathered some of those knarly Cedar and Juniper roots and stuff to make lamp bases and furniture stuff. Always wondered what happened to that guy, he had an old milk delivery van made into a camper...he just headed off into the desert one day and never came back...probably moved to Ohio and changed his name to Papa..lol

[arrow719]

Originally Posted by DesertWalker

The woodturners love those burls, but maybe not from evergreens, maybe Juniper, but not Pine, because of the sap. I used to know an old (older than me..lol) hippie guy that gathered some of those knarly Cedar and Juniper roots and stuff to make lamp bases and furniture stuff. Always wondered what happened to that guy, he had an old milk delivery van made into a camper...he just headed off into the desert one day and never came back...probably moved to Ohio and changed his name to Papa..lol

Thanks, odds are it's juniper. There were a few pines around but most were junipers. It's by far the biggest burl I've ever seen while in the desert hiking. Unless it's rotted I bet it would make some really nice furniture. I may head off to the desert some day and never come back. I've thought of doing that many a time!

[DesertWalker]

Problem is...some dumb asz would probably try to track you down, and cause an incident, then they would pass a law...No more Floyds in the desert without a permit..lol