I love getting outside, I love hiking, and I love picking berries. It’s nice when I can combine all three and enjoy a beautiful day.

This year it seems to me the blueberries came on a little earlier on the Palmer side of Hatcher’s Pass. I got a text from a friend who is an avid berry picker and she sent me a picture of the berries being ripe the first week in August. I usually head out that way after school starts, which is usually about August 15th. But I’m not complaining, the weather was gorgeous!

I was recounting this year, the many times I have taken my kids with me berry picking. When they were younger, but old enough to play a little ways off while I picked (still within view), I would send them off to play while I picked. I did this because there was a lot less complaining, and a lot less eating of the berries! They also didn’t pay attention to the bushes and would often walk right across the top of the patch. All this frustrated me, so I sent them off to play and I picked.

This year I took my second daughter with me picking. While we were wandering through bushes up to our shoulders getting out to the blueberries we talked about how often we had gone berry picking, but that she had never actually picked berries more than just to eat right then. I told her she better not eat all the berries that day! We had a good visit, and picked about 1 1/2 gallons of berries in just over an hour.

Last night my oldest daughter and son-in-law went up to the Willow side of Hatcher’s to check the berries. These are a different variety, much lower to the ground and usually smaller in size. We had stopped to check them about a week ago, and couldn’t really find any. We decided they were either still green or they were already gone. They found them last night, and said they must have been green, because there were a ton and really not totally ripe even yesterday. We can probably go get more next week.

I have decided berry picking is a lot like hunting. I could probably just go to the store and save the gas and time buying the ones there, but there is no fun in that. Also, I know the ones out in the wild are healthier for a several of reason.

• they haven’t been altered genetically
• They haven’t had anything sprayed on them
• They are nutritionally superior to the store bought kind

One thing I have learned through researching healthy eating is that wild plants are much healthier than the domesticated kind. The antioxidants in wild berries is much higher than in the grocery store ones; and that the Alaska berries are still higher than even the wild berries in warmer climates. Something about the cold and the adaptations to the climate make them higher in antioxidants than in most other places. Not that I need more reasons to pick wild berries, but these are some great reasons to take the time to get out and pick local, wild berries.

There are only a couple of berries left to pick before winter, or at least on my berry picking schedule. I may go get more blueberries next week, but along with the blueberries, there are a ton of crow berries mixed in with the blueberries on the Willow side. I have never picked those, but have found a number of recipes using them, so I thought I might try that. I also may pick highbush cranberries and try a couple of new recipes. Lastly will be the lowbush cranberries. They seem to be really prevalent this year. I like to make cranberry sauce with them for Thanksgiving and Christmas.