Berry Picking

Crowberries, Glen Alps, Anchorage AK

It is definitely Berry Season.

My husband and I like to walk our dogs at the Glen Alps trails, where the berries are in full bloom now. From August to the end of September, the Alaskan gorges, mountains, valleys, and hay flats are full of these little colorful things called berries. 

Usually during our walk there are berries everywhere we step: raspberries, blue berries, crowberries, wild strawberries, and so many other ones.  I stop to sample the berries and to pick some up to cook them later.

Here in Alaska, there is a great variety of berries; it is said that nearly 50 different types can be found with an enormous percentage of them being edible. Please don't eat the white ones, they are all poisonous.

Blueberries, Crowberries, Cranberries, Wild Strawberries

Berries have been of a tremendous importance in the Alaskan's diet for centuries, not only for the Alaskan Natives but also for the Sourdough's, like us, (people who spent at least one winter here), as for the Cheechakos (a person newly arrived in Alaska).

The locals as the bears, of course in a different manner, enjoy this much awaited season.  

The process of walking through the trails, finding berries, picking them up, and bringing them home to cook them into jams and jellies is a unique and fun one, this is for sure one of the perks of living around this beauty called Alaska, as we live.

Alaskan Black Bear

Bear Cubs, hiding after eating berries

One word of caution, always remember that we are not the only ones in search of these most delicious little fruits, the bears, the land owners are restlessly in the prowl for them also, making our hunt a bit more difficult; we also need to be in the lookout for them, and if you find one, do not turn your back to them and start running, lift your arms, make a lot of noise, shout, and back away as quickly as you can without frightening them.  A good way to try to avoid bears is to sing, make a lot of noise, tie bells around your waist in order to let the bears know that you are around.  Bears just attack if they feel threatened or scared.

One more thing, eat the berries within a couple of days of picking, or dry them and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Tell me what you think about this article 

and what your experience was while picking berries.