Best Katie Article Ever!
1 - we are a very unlikable crowd.

i got some chaterelles from costco about three weeks ago.. cause, costco. so i blistered some rapini, added some oregano, fresh diced basil and fresh grated parmesan cheese, and baby...life. that isht gave me , life...
dunno if i’m going to costco again, doe thanks for reminding us.i found an asian market in white center that sold em for $2.99 a lb. in lieu of gettin trenchfeet and empty handed, i’ll be on the hunt.

Great. Now the noobs will be traipsing around and trashing the woods, and will probably end up dead from eating the wrong mushroom.

"They do have some lookalikes, "
Yep.
"—and they aren't poisonous so if you accidentally eat one you won't die from it. "
Not so true...

"Good luck! And try not to get lost."
Terrible advice. Go! Get lost! Like, really really lost! Days of no food lost! It's great! Wear tennis shoes and jeans and a cotton hoodie! It's fine!
The woods are totally not full of bears, and cougars, and poison ivy, and poison oak, and hella stinging venomous insects, and snakes, and people with guns, and oozing malevolent darkness, and traps!

@3 - Speak for yourself. Oh you already did---Nevermind!

It is best not to pick them but to cut them with a knife just above the root; leave the root for re-growth.

@7 - Naw, just get on your hands and knees and chow down on them right then and there. They taste best ultra-fresh, like just eat it with your teeth. As soon as you cut them the "flavor half-life" is like 10 minutes, so they'll be shit by the time you get home.

Wait, "regrowth"? They are the fruit of a complex mycelium matrix in the soil, which are started from spores; they are not trees.

Everyone else, Beware of mycotoxins!

birch? poplar?
they don’t populate our forests.

One of several things I've always wanted to be able to do is forage for mushrooms. Never hooked up with anyone who could teach though. Too bad. I adore wild mushrooms. Beekeeping. Growing perfect tomatoes. Tailoring. All elusive. Sigh. But my wild mushroom lasagna will knock...something...off of you.

Pretty good information there for the most part, BUT...
as #9 alludes, you got the tree indicator species wrong (at least for E King County).
Just loook for regular old doug fir- second or third growth is best, you want the trees to be at least say, 20" diameter at the butt. Fortunately that type of habitat is common as dirt around here.
Knock yourself out looking in majestic old growth or huge second growth. Not saying you won't find any there-you might but usually just onesy-twosies and you might kill yourself clambering over deadfalls.
Avoid areas with too many salmonberries, also big-leaf maple or mixed cottonwood habitat is not good. Like you say, ferny & mossy but not too ferny.
Oh, and one other tip- on most smart phones you can download the Google map for the area you are going. You will most likely be out of cell range, but that is no big deal- your phone even in the deepest dankest forests can triangulate your location from satellites and you can keep track of your location in relation to roads. Try it first, but that is an invaluable service for serious mushrooming.

@9,11 - re: "Birch, poplar" ...Right? Heh. I think I heard something about newly-locals giving even-newly'er-locals detailed, specific, notably inaccurate flora and fauna advice. Not sure where I heard it though...

And to everyone who plans to just randomly follow Katie H's advise and have yourself a merry afternoon hunting for mushyrooms, be sure to slather a lot of strawberry jam on your shirtsleeves and collars. It's a little known but highly effective PNW mosquito repellent. Sounds crazy, but it's true. Katie didn't tell you because she hasn't learned that one yet.. ;>)

Let's talk about the energy cost and carbon footprint of these "free" mushrooms you're transporting in small batches to individual consumers via automobile.

Camano island's Doug Fir woods are great for hunting chanterelles. But there is a pretty good mimic that is poisonous, so yeah, go with someone who knows what they're doing. Also, beware nettles. If you get stung, crush some bracken fern with a bit of water and put on the sting to neutralize the burn. They should be nearby the nettles.

I also wondered about the birch and poplars!

"and people with guns, and oozing malevolent darkness, and traps!"

And meth labs. Don't forget the meth labs.

They're one of the 4 unmistakables, but still be careful folks! Send a photo (or better yet--spore print) to the UW herbarium id this is your first time trying to ID chanterelles.

Bragging: I have giant puffballs and chicken of the wood in my yard! Foraging is fun!

@14 don't forget to grab nettles for the soup

@16 - You lucky, lucky bastard!
@15 - Right. Meth labs. Bears on meth. Insane Squirrel Posses. Coyotes, Angry Ranchers, Earth First! Liberators, Black Goats, and Hills with a Thousand Eyes... not to mention Yog-Sothoth, who relocated here after those 'problems' in Dunwich.