Have You Ever Had a Huckleberry?

When I was a kid, my Mom used to drag us up to Mt. Adams so we could help pick huckleberries. We used to moan and complain about it because huckleberries are really hard to pick. They're so small that you can pick for hours and only have enough to make one pie.

These are pictures from when we were teenagers.

Picking berries??

If you don't know what a huckleberry is, you're missing out. It's sort of like a blueberry, but smaller and more purple in color. Huckleberries also have the most amazing flavor.

A couple weeks ago I was talking with my Grandma and she asked if my Mom was planning to go pick again this year. Even though she didn't say it, I knew Grandma really wanted to go. So, I told my Mom we should go picking and take Grandma with us. She agreed!

After the two-and-a-half-hour drive up to the mountain, we began to search for the best berry patch. You should know that these berries grow wild on the mountain, so you have to be aware that you may be sharing your berry stash with a bear at some point. This is where the kids and dog came in handy!

The boys ran through the bushes screaming and laughing at one another. I shushed them once before my Dad told me to let them be loud because it scares off the bears. OHMIGOSH! Thankfully, we never did see any bears.

My Grandma, Mom, Dad and I picked for a solid two hours and only got half a flat of berries. Let me tell you that it was worth the hard work! Out of that half a flat, I got four batches of freezer jam and a pie. (The best pie I've ever eaten by the way.)