>>1108734varies with the amount of available moisture. Where I live, there are 'fog-drip' chanterelles that grow very slowly-- maturing over the course of weeks or a month. After the first rains, there were fully-grown specimens after three or four days.
One nice thing about chanterelles is that they are pretty hardy and rot-resistant. If you don't think anyone's gonna take them, I'd say just go back in a few days.
>>1108797I recommend finding a book that's specific to your region. All else being equal, All That the Rain Promises and More by David Aurora is an unbeatable first field guide for North America. It's got all the common edibles, great pictures, entertaining anecdotes, and is a pretty soft introduction to dichotomous keys if you're not already familiar.
If you're in northern California or the PNW, Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast by Noah Siegle and Christian Schwarz is an excellent and very thorough book. Definitely the best I've found for the region.
