huckleberries

[Bango skank]

Think im going to get up in the morning and go stock up on some more.  Got to get while the gettins good

[Birdgetter]

Had a great day in the mountains. Lots of berries, picked a gallon on Chinook pass.

[Seabass]

I don't remember a year when the berries were as good as this year.

[Bango skank]

Huckleberries are doing awesome this year, but has anybody else noticed that the service berries are doing terrible?  Im finding service berries in some areas, not many, but a lot of places none of the service berry bushes are growing squat.

[trophyhunt]

What is a service berry?

[Bango skank]

What is a service berry?

Really?  Theyre more common than huckleberries.  Not nearly as good, but it seems to me that bears are more into service berries than huckleberries. 

[trophyhunt]

Never heard of a service berry, it looks just like a huckleberry.   Now I sound like that girl on willy Wonka, snozz berry, who every heard of a snozz berry!!   

[Bango skank]

Never heard of a service berry, it looks just like a huckleberry.   Now I sound like that girl on willy Wonka, snozz berry, who every heard of a snozz berry!!   

I pulled that pic off the web.  When you see them in person, theyre obviously not hucks.  And the bushes grow way bigger too.  Commonly head high, some can get like small trees, 12'+.

[Bango skank]

Theyre edible, but not nearly as good as hucks.  Seedy, and to me they kind of taste like sweet peas.  Natives used them in pemmican.  Theyre not worth going out and gathering like hucks are, but ive been known to eat a few handfuls if im hiking around all day and want a snack, and there are no hucks around.

Some of the areas i was thinking about hunting bears this month, the service berries arent hardly producing at all, so the bears arent there.  But my plan a area has a ton of hucks, so its still a go there.

[huntnnw]

What is a service berry?

Really?  Theyre more common than huckleberries.  Not nearly as good, but it seems to me that bears are more into service berries than huckleberries.

berries I hunt that I always thought were service berries dont look like those. huge clusters of dark purple, look like hawthorn berries. bears love them whatever they are and they are ripe now

[Pathfinder101]

Theyre edible, but not nearly as good as hucks.  Seedy, and to me they kind of taste like sweet peas.  Natives used them in pemmican.  Theyre not worth going out and gathering like hucks are, but ive been known to eat a few handfuls if im hiking around all day and want a snack, and there are no hucks around.

Some of the areas i was thinking about hunting bears this month, the service berries arent hardly producing at all, so the bears arent there.  But my plan a area has a ton of hucks, so its still a go there.

Indians also dry them and put them in stews.  Again, not real tasty.  Almost more like a vegetable than a fruit.  I am sure they've got all kinds of nutritional value, but no fun to eat...   Survival Food 

[Pathfinder101]

Army Survival Berry Edibility "Rule of Thumb":

If it's Blue or Black-its edible
If it's Red - only eat it if you know what it is
If it's White - Never edible
If it's green or pink - It's not ripe.  You can eat a little if you know what it is,  but too much and you'll get diarrhea

 

[Bango skank]

Never heard of a service berry, it looks just like a huckleberry.   Now I sound like that girl on willy Wonka, snozz berry, who every heard of a snozz berry!!   

Big service berry bush i just came across.  Like most of them this year in a lot of my areas, its hardly producing any berries.
  You can see my backpack at the base of this sucker to give you an idea of its size.  Theyre not all this big but still, cant mistake it for a huckleberry bush.

[Naches Sportsman]

Not bad for 5 people and a 30 minute lunch break.

[acrocker]

Wow, Naches Sportsman, my mouth is watering just looking at that haul! I gotta go find some berries, there's a ton of pancakes calling out for hucks... Not to mention a few pie crusts...

I never seem to find them though, they're like my unicorn. By the time I find a patch it's been picked clean or it's a bad year and there just aren't any. Anybody know where I can buy a gallon?