James Whitfield

I'm basically the guy who got into mushrooms last year and won't shut up about it. A friend showed me chicken of the woods on a hike in 2024, and within a month I was buying field guides and joining Reddit threads at 2 AM. No formal mycology training. I learned from YouTube, Reddit, and a lot of mistakes. But honestly, that makes me good at writing for beginners. I remember what it's like to not know anything.

I work as an outdoor recreation coordinator in Asheville, which means I spend most of my week getting people outside anyway. On weekends I volunteer with the Appalachian Mycological Society and lead beginner foraging walks. I studied Recreation Management at Western Carolina University, not exactly a mycology degree, but it taught me how to teach people things without making them feel stupid.