Post by: 7mmfan on July 22, 2020, 08:42:58 AM
So I guess the question is, is it worth heading to my high spot that early, or will it just be a vacant lot at that point? Side note, I did see bears at this elevation 2 weeks ago, but they were clearly eating something other than berries. Do they migrate downslope as berries start to ripen?
Post by: bearmanric on July 22, 2020, 10:06:38 AM
Post by: 7mmfan on July 22, 2020, 10:32:51 AM
Post by: Jonathan_S on July 22, 2020, 11:31:53 AM
Post by: mountainman on July 22, 2020, 11:49:27 AM
Post by: jstone on July 22, 2020, 11:52:16 AM
Post by: Moe the Sleaze on July 22, 2020, 12:17:37 PM
Post by: 7mmfan on July 22, 2020, 01:03:28 PM
I wouldn't say kickoff, probably decent berries still particularly with this being a later year. Depends on where though. Some years "my" berries at 6500+ are all dried up by Sept 1
I think you're berries go a little earlier than Cascade berries. I was up in this area 2 weeks ago and there was still several feet of snow in a lot of places.
Post by: jstone on July 22, 2020, 02:15:36 PM
Post by: 7mmfan on July 22, 2020, 02:42:02 PM
Next question, what are those bears eating at high elevation before the berries come in? I saw them up there a couple weeks back at nearly 5000'. 5 bears all on one hillside chowing down. They just eating grass or is there something else they focus on? The underlying part of that question is, for meat quality, would it be wise to just wait until closer to September when I'm confident they've been eating berries for a couple weeks?
Post by: Jonathan_S on July 23, 2020, 06:01:58 AM
Post by: 7mmfan on July 23, 2020, 12:12:32 PM
Post by: Ghost Hunter on July 23, 2020, 12:39:52 PM
Post by: jrebel on July 23, 2020, 12:40:32 PM
Post by: HoopsNHorns on July 23, 2020, 01:42:51 PM
There is a number crop of service berries this year. They are ripe now and will be a great early august food source. Only bad thing is they are everywhere so bears don’t have to congregate in any specific area.
Yep. Huge crop of service berries in the NE this year. They are ripe and in the lower elevations (~2000 ft), bears have started to hit them.
Post by: tgomez on July 23, 2020, 02:33:31 PM
Post by: 3nails on July 23, 2020, 04:48:11 PM
Post by: 7mmfan on July 23, 2020, 08:12:23 PM
On the west side, especially to the north, you'll have a very hard time finding berries until MAYBE mid September. Most likely zero berries on the north slopes of ridges this year. If you can find a good south slope that produces berries this year it will be a gold mine. Bear hunting, however, is like bass fishing.
That's good info. I'll be treating this trip on the 8th/9th as a scouting trip for both bears and berries. Will give me a good idea of where to spend my time later on.
Post by: RobinHoodlum on July 23, 2020, 09:31:52 PM
2 observations - 1) Whether the sub alpine and alpine berries are ripe or not, some bears still follow the green up and snow is not a deterrent. 2) If there is a good crop of berries in treed areas and small pockets, they seem to prefer to forage in these areas and it takes more work to catch them in the larger open meadows.
You'll learn a lot about what they're doing if you hike and glass in bear rich areas at various elevations. Hard to do in western WA with all the frigging gates and fee access BS though!
Good luck!
Post by: RobinHoodlum on July 23, 2020, 09:36:29 PM
Do they migrate downslope as berries start to ripen?
Sorrry i didnt respond to your original question. My opinion is no, they're not going down slope this time of year. Staying put or going up with the receding snow.
Post by: Bango skank on July 24, 2020, 12:25:46 AM
Big year for service berries in NE. Not sure if bears like them?
They definitely do
Post by: 3nails on July 24, 2020, 07:36:51 AM
What are you referring to in "migrate"? A bear may feed on salmonberries on a sand bar in the river at '1,000 elevation in the morning and then decide to dine on some fresh greens that evening at '5,500 10 miles away.Do they migrate downslope as berries start to ripen?
Sorrry i didnt respond to your original question. My opinion is no, they're not going down slope this time of year. Staying put or going up with the receding snow.
Post by: 7mmfan on July 24, 2020, 09:13:01 AM
What are you referring to in "migrate"? A bear may feed on salmonberries on a sand bar in the river at '1,000 elevation in the morning and then decide to dine on some fresh greens that evening at '5,500 10 miles away.Do they migrate downslope as berries start to ripen?
Sorrry i didnt respond to your original question. My opinion is no, they're not going down slope this time of year. Staying put or going up with the receding snow.
I guess that's the question. Do they travel long distances for food daily? I've always pictured them camping on food in a given area and not really moving around much until the food moves. The reason I ask is I spotted half a dozen bears 2 weeks ago at 5000' on a wide open ridge grubbing on something. They were all diligently eating. Berries hadn't even flowered yet and there were huge snow drifts/fields nearby. My main question would be, as berries start to ripen at lower elevations, will those bears at 5000'-5500'-6000' move downhill to the "berry line" so to speak, and start following it uphill as they begin to ripen at higher elevations? I'm confident that I'm WAY overthinking this, but that's kind of my M.O. What I'm gathering is this time of year, the bears are where you find them until there is a large enough concentration of berries up high to draw them there.
Post by: 3nails on July 24, 2020, 12:02:42 PM
The answer is: All of the above. A bears range can be huge. The bear himself doesn't know what he is going to do until his nose and stomach tells him. A '5,000 elevation gain hike is nothing but a stroll to him. There are actually far more bears down low eating berries at any given time than there is up high. It's just that they are easier to see up there. If you find a good berry meadow up high this year you may see 6 or 7 in it one day and zero the next. But this year in particular if you find a good patch sit on it with the wind in your favor and something will show up.What are you referring to in "migrate"? A bear may feed on salmonberries on a sand bar in the river at '1,000 elevation in the morning and then decide to dine on some fresh greens that evening at '5,500 10 miles away.Do they migrate downslope as berries start to ripen?
Sorrry i didnt respond to your original question. My opinion is no, they're not going down slope this time of year. Staying put or going up with the receding snow.
I guess that's the question. Do they travel long distances for food daily? I've always pictured them camping on food in a given area and not really moving around much until the food moves. The reason I ask is I spotted half a dozen bears 2 weeks ago at 5000' on a wide open ridge grubbing on something. They were all diligently eating. Berries hadn't even flowered yet and there were huge snow drifts/fields nearby. My main question would be, as berries start to ripen at lower elevations, will those bears at 5000'-5500'-6000' move downhill to the "berry line" so to speak, and start following it uphill as they begin to ripen at higher elevations? I'm confident that I'm WAY overthinking this, but that's kind of my M.O. What I'm gathering is this time of year, the bears are where you find them until there is a large enough concentration of berries up high to draw them there.
Post by: WSU on July 24, 2020, 12:12:59 PM
Post by: konradcountry on July 27, 2020, 11:17:00 AM
Lot of thimbleberry and wild strawberry.
Post by: huntingaddiction on July 28, 2020, 06:02:31 AM
Post by: jk78 on July 28, 2020, 06:50:29 AM
Post by: birdshooter1189 on July 28, 2020, 08:03:18 AM
The northern cascade units have blue berry sized and ripe around the 3000 , 3500 hundred elevation. They seemed to be next to creeks and a bumper crop this year. These were way above average size and tasted great! I wonder if the moist weather has something to do with the amount of snow and rain this year or just the area? I came out of the hills with the stains on my hands and face when returning to the truck. Plan on picking a couple gallons plenty around. Just stay in the lower land and follow them up as they ripen. The berries up high are tiny and a long way from ripe.
Thanks for the report. I'm hoping to find a spot to pick a couple gallons of berries this season. My family used to pick at a couple spots near Stampede pass. One spot got overgrown with trees and another became popular with commercial pickers. I'm scouting for a new spot near Snoqualmie pass, Chinook Pass, or the olympics. I'll hopefully be able to do some exploring this weekend.
Post by: 7mmfan on July 28, 2020, 08:16:29 AM
The northern cascade units have blue berry sized and ripe around the 3000 , 3500 hundred elevation. They seemed to be next to creeks and a bumper crop this year. These were way above average size and tasted great! I wonder if the moist weather has something to do with the amount of snow and rain this year or just the area? I came out of the hills with the stains on my hands and face when returning to the truck. Plan on picking a couple gallons plenty around. Just stay in the lower land and follow them up as they ripen. The berries up high are tiny and a long way from ripe.
That's a great berry report, thank you.
My Dad did a long hike last weekend, got up to around 5500' or so. Said there was tons of berries, but obviously far from ripe. Where we're going on the 8/9 I can glass openings along a creek bottom down to about 4000' so hopefully one or two might make themselves visible. Then I just have to figure out how to get them out of there! :yike:
Post by: jstone on July 28, 2020, 08:30:17 AM
Post by: Jonathan_S on July 28, 2020, 10:15:06 AM
Post by: RobinHoodlum on July 28, 2020, 09:43:24 PM
Post by: 7mmfan on August 14, 2020, 08:39:16 AM
Post by: 7mmfan on August 24, 2020, 11:04:59 AM
Post by: ganghis on August 24, 2020, 11:17:36 AM
Only found one pile of bear crap in two days (that one clearly had been eating blueberries) and didn't actually see a bear. Maybe they're down lower in the timber (2000-3000 feet) munching on salal berries? Those seem like they'd make for better nutrition right now since they're much more plentiful. Less mosquitoes down there too!
Post by: 3nails on August 24, 2020, 01:48:08 PM
Post by: Rainier10 on August 24, 2020, 02:00:05 PM
Post by: 7mmfan on August 24, 2020, 02:03:33 PM
Post by: Bango skank on August 26, 2020, 04:27:20 AM
Post by: Jonathan_S on August 26, 2020, 06:01:08 AM