Huckleberry Season is ON!

Huckleberries are ON! I have gone picking three times in the Coeur d'Alene area, and may not get out again, but picking was GOOD! Went once with Mr. Huckleberry himself, Roy Baldwin of Harrison, Idaho; once with my friend Tim Hillebrand, and his wife Romana; and lastly with my wife Sandy (for an overnighter in the van... forgot how much work it was to camp...!)

Generally, I am hearing reports that yields for the tangy, wild berry are down, but we got into some really good patches. I only got about a gallon average, each trip, with about 1.5 to 2 hours picking. The third time, I used a huckleberry rake device I got over the internet... the learning curve was steeper than I thought it would be, but once I got the hang of it, it certainly helped, where the berries were thick. Downside, got a lot of leaves, although the damage to the plant itself was minimal... I had heard stories that rakes were destructive to the plants, but I did not see any damage... I did more walking around in the patches, by far. Occasionally, a small tip would break off, but rarely.

Check out some of the resources at the Western Huckleberry & Bilberry Association web site, WHBA, and maintained by my friend, Gail Suhfras, if you are interested in learning more!

So whats going on in huckleberry land? Waiting to hear more reports from the field. Anyone have a good pie recipe they want to share?

Malcolm