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Big Game Hunting => Bear Hunting => Topic started by: JackOfAllTrades on July 02, 2009, 11:29:58 AM


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Title: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: JackOfAllTrades on July 02, 2009, 11:29:58 AM
With all this sun I have to imagine that the snow is melting or has melted on many high meadows. Locally the Nooksack looks to be flowing well, but the USGS graphs show it to be well below average water flow. Timing of snow melting off the south, east and west slopes really affects the Blueberry sprout timing. I've come into some good Salmon berry patches recently in low lands, so this sun has really been a plus. But has anyone seen what the Blues are doing up high? (Yes, it's early for them, I'm just currious how they look.)  Most of the photos of Bears so far this year have been Bears eating grasses. The one and only time I've been in the woods above 3,000' I've noticed some torn up stumps.

-Steve
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: Skyvalhunter on July 02, 2009, 11:34:07 AM
I have noticed quite a bit of blueberry blooms up high on some of the south facing slopes. Should be a good year with not much late frost and warmer spring. Although up by me in the Central Cascades there is still a fair amout of snow in the timber and North sides of the ridges.
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: saylean on July 02, 2009, 11:37:42 AM
Bear I was watching the other week was at about 3600 ft, eating blooming flowers and buds...not alot of sign up there that I have seen, but I know there are a few up there. This was in snoqualmie.
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: Skyvalhunter on July 02, 2009, 11:42:16 AM
Yea 2 weekends ago I was up by Stevens pass and seen a decent brown phased bear getting water out of the inlet to a culvert. Went hiking a couple thousand feet above him but the greens werent quite out yet but the berries were starting probably why the bear was down lower in elevation
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: runamuk on July 02, 2009, 11:42:55 AM
We are going up this weekend in the Olympics.....last night I was eating blackberries, huckleberries and salmon berries in the Capitol forest.... we found a bunch of blueberries about a week ago that weren't quite ripe.....
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: jackelope on July 02, 2009, 11:44:19 AM
3' of snow under 5k feet facing north on fathers day.
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: boneaddict on July 02, 2009, 11:46:27 AM
huckleberries already?
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: Skyvalhunter on July 02, 2009, 11:47:44 AM
 :dunno: sems early
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: runamuk on July 02, 2009, 11:53:59 AM
huckleberries already?

red ones .....on certain slopes down low yeppers

Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: boneaddict on July 02, 2009, 11:59:08 AM
I guess on the eastside I never really understood red huckleberries.  To me a red huckleberry is one that isn't ripe yet.   I wonder if I just called them something different, or maybe we don't have them :dunno:
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: Skyvalhunter on July 02, 2009, 12:01:40 PM
yea Bone over here on the wet side we have the red huckleberries that ripen earlier(didn't realize this early) compared to the blue huckleberries.
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: runamuk on July 02, 2009, 12:05:33 PM
Here is a wiki link there are pictures there

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinium_parvifolium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinium_parvifolium)

as a kid I picked enough of these to convince my dad to make a small batch of champagne from them..... that was a heck of a lot of picking......I believe he had enough to make 4 bottles...lol....

Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: JackOfAllTrades on July 02, 2009, 12:07:26 PM
Still seems early to have Huck's on the west side...

-Steve
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: boneaddict on July 02, 2009, 12:10:37 PM
How do they compare in taste Run? 
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: runamuk on July 02, 2009, 12:21:58 PM
How do they compare in taste Run? 

never had blue huckleberries only blueberries ...lol... the red hucks are sort of sour/acidic.....but not as sour as gooseberries.....
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: let.it.fly on July 02, 2009, 02:51:13 PM
i was up on the northeast side of mt si about 2500 ft and found some blue berries, were'nt quit ripe yet but they were close. we saw one bear about 700 ft up a ridge line and he was just milling about in a clear cut. he was a good size bear maybe over 6 ft. the canyons above us still had some patchy snow in them but not much. i hopfully will make it up to about 4500 ft this weekend and i will let ya know how the snow is. 29 days. :IBCOOL:
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: fishcrazy on July 02, 2009, 04:45:08 PM
I walked in to check my cams yesterday evening and found a few red huckles. I thought it was strange to see them this early. Most berries were small and green. We et a few. They were just ripe enough.

Blue huckles are MUCH better :)
Allso et a few hand fulls of salmon berries.
Kris
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: Ray on July 02, 2009, 06:27:01 PM
Red hucks are out but not ripe down low today.
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: jason4429 on July 05, 2009, 07:35:55 PM
The reds are ripe around my house and the blackberries are starting.
Title: Re: Anyone been to the high country yet? Still too much snow?
Post by: deerslyr on July 05, 2009, 09:43:01 PM
Kinda bummed the berries are doin this good...last year seemed to be a bad year for berries and the bears were REALLY concentrated in the area i was hunting.
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