Mushroom hike on the edge of Börzsöny

Itinerary

• We walk out from Diósjenő on the Z mark.
• Upon reaching the forest asphalt road, follow the ZT mark to the right until the junction after Gyíkos-kút.
• At the junction, follow the S mark to the Závoz saddle.
• From the Závoz saddle, again follow the ZT mark.
• In the valley of the Kemence stream, cross a wooden bridge to the Gál-kút, reaching it on the Z● mark.
• From Gál-kút, follow the unmarked trail straight until after the meadow where we reach the marked path again.
• On the Z mark (to the left) we return to Diósjenő, the starting point of our hike.

Detailed description of the hike

Fungi of the dry oak forests

The suggested hike is a good guideline to explore the diverse and charming forests of Börzsöny, but for mushrooms it is worth deviating slightly from the route and looking around promising spots more thoroughly. The most noticeable habitats are old forests with sparse undergrowth, mainly with mossy ground, where the fruiting bodies of mushrooms are visible from afar.

We leave Diósjenő on the Z mark towards the mountainous area rising at its western border, above the Jenő stream, opposite the campsite. Shortly, we connect to the asphalt road leading to Királyháza, but turn right towards the adventure park following the ZT educational trail sign. This well-travelled, wide forest path lets us explore the history of the surrounding forests and locations along the forestry educational trail information boards. By reading the boards, we gain deeper insight into our environment; for example, we learn that conscious forest management was already practiced around Diósjenő in the second half of the 19th century, so the tree stand consisting of turpentine, oak, beech, and ash was of excellent quality, ensuring a healthy community for plants, animals, and fungi. These tree species are still characteristic of the area, though we also find linden, maple, and even Douglas fir and redwood near Csehvár.

Gradually and persistently ascending the road, dense forest provides shelter with its closed canopy. Sessile oak is the predominant tree species composing the forest, sometimes accompanied by shrubby, bushy patches with mixed age specimens, so the multilayered canopy, sometimes shading the ground closely, limits soil drying, creating favorable conditions for mycelium. After a gentle ascent, we cross the stream’s now intermittent bed and switch to the opposing southeast-facing slope. The steepness increases, and in the higher environment, the ash-gray trunks of the beeches also greet us along the way. The S mark joins us as we climb to the Závoz saddle.

A nature trail board informs us about the village’s former gravel mine nearby, shedding light on the geological complexity of the area. Börzsöny was formed by volcanic activity breaking through the sedimentary layer typical of Nógrád, so at the foot of the volcanic mountains, pebble and sandy sediments are found: near the village finer grains, further away coarser sediments mixed with pebbles. This also influences soil pH, since acidic soil develops on silica-rich sediments. Higher up near the Závoz saddle and the Kemence stream spring area, volcanic rocks constitute the base, also resulting in acidic soil but with much richer nutrient supply.

Passing an intermittent spring (the Gyíkos spring) and overcoming the steepest terrain, we arrive at the barely hundred-meter-long meadow of the Závoz saddle, which preserves the memory of traditional landscape use. In the steep terrain of the mountain range, saddles were typically "cleared" of forest for grazing and mowing. For centuries, mountain grass species have lived here, providing favorable conditions for meadow mushrooms. We find a resting place in the eastern corner of the meadow, where we can reorganize after the climb. From the Závoz saddle, we have a nice view of Diósjenő, the Jenő lake, the andesite cliffs of Kő-szirt towering above us, and the hills of Cserhát.

Wet habitats, excellent mushroom grounds

From here, we are in the Kemence stream spring area, where the terrain softens and the valley provides passage between the eastern and western sides of the mountain range. Again, we follow the ZT mark, which descends slightly to the forestry haulage road and continues with a short shortcut on the faintly babbling streamside path under a tunnel of trees. On the forestry educational trail, we reach the former Mázsaház, to which in the early 20th century led the forestry railway active throughout the mountains from the eastern side of Csóványos. The harvested timber was piled and weighed here before being transported across the Závoz saddle to the Diósjenő railway station. A charcoal kiln also operated on site, rearranging the original terrain.

At the opposite bank of the stream, not far from earlier, we can divert to the stone pyramid-shaped enclosure of Gál-kút, crossing a wooden bridge following the Z● mark, and take fresh spring water at the turnaround point of our route. Among the trees, round small ponds also hide, unusual in volcanic mountain ranges. The heavily algae-covered, duckweed-covered, rainwater-filled pools are actually bomb craters formed at the end of World War II from leftover and exploded ammunition. They currently play an important role in the local ecosystem as amphibian spawning sites and in water retention after rainy periods.

Streamside forests have better water management due to their deeper location and lower sun exposure, but it’s also important that vapor condensed from river water at night contributes. Here, beech trees form a continuous forest, typically mixed with hornbeam, some oak, and ash. Although the trail leaves the stream after a few hundred meters and turns east toward the village, it’s worth examining the moister streamside forests more closely as here we find more diverse communities due to the greater water presence.

By continuing on an unmarked path bypassing Gál-kút, crossing the meadow and wet forest soil, we soon join the Z marked tourist path, where we turn left. We cross the Kemence stream, make a short climb out of the stream valley basin, and on the far side of the saddle, again reach the steep slope above the village. With a short detour on the PL mark, we can visit the rocky protrusion of Csehvár, from where, however, we only see the village in leafless periods between the branches. The rocky mountainside here is extremely dry, but due to its sparse, shrubby forest receives intense sunlight, so after rainy periods, mushroom species requiring warmth may appear here first.

We walk in the shady beech forest at the foot of Csehvár, while lower along the road leading back to the village, we cross oak forests on the steadily sloping eastern mountainside. In the shrubby, tucked-away grove of the forest, it’s worth looking closely and discovering the ideal environment for mushrooms. Due to the proximity to the main road and the village, locals collect mushrooms intensively here, but many mushrooms still remain hidden in the grassy, shrubby forest. Upon reaching the main road, we return to Diósjenő along the route already familiar from the start of our hike.