Today we took some friends from the midwest up into the Idaho mountains in search of huckleberries.
We drove about 7 miles up a gravel logging road, a task that took about 40 minutes as we crawled along the switchbacks and over ruts in the road. The folded hills covered with pine, tamarack, and cedar were quite a sight.
We found a promising hillside with its scattered bushes covered with little red and blue berries. We each found a decent patch and the five of us spent almost two hours picking our way across a mountain slope in search of the little flavorful morsels. We found them easily enough, but their small size means it's a lot of work to gather a decent quantity. All told, we had about 8 cups of berries once we were done.
The remote growing location and the effort needed for decent quantities make these berries a dear thing to acquire, so professional pickers sell them for quite a sum. I advise against buying huckleberries though, because the experience is definitely worth the trouble!
Huckleberry habitat
Daisies along the road
Indian paintbrush
So why go to all the trouble? Because huckleberries are awesome! They're like blueberries, except better in every way. Sweet and tart, aromatic, and delicious!
They can be mixed with blueberries to make a better blueberry pie, or if you're feeling exceedingly extravagant, you can use them to make an entire pie. They also add a nice counterpoint to a strawberry pie, they're superb for jams and jellies, they're better than blueberries in pancakes, and they're a great ice cream topping!
But they're best of all when you pick them off the bush where they have grown and been warmed by the sun to pop them in your mouth on the mountainside.
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