Montana Woods N Water August 2016 Print Edition | Page 28

MOUNTAIN MEMORIES

Huckleberry Mania
By Carol Cady

Huckleberry season is upon us and it brings back many memories spent in
the mountains as a child and with my children.
It is that time of year when the “buzz” around town is all about
Huckleberries. Questions range from , “Are there any this year at all?
Where are the patches? Are they prolific? Are the berries big…little…or in
between?”
And we must not forget, “The cost?”. What are they selling for this year?
And then, of course the passing of recipes between friends.

I always look forward to the stories of the “hunt” for these elusive little
purple berries that make people go nuts. I might add here, when someone
comes in Mountain Meadows Gifts to buy a jar of Huckleberry Jam, for five
or six dollars and whines about the cost, I definitely jump in and in short
order give them an itemized cost of a trip to the back country, where one
risks life and limb to get some huckleberries.
The story that follows was one where all the elements came into play. My friend Michelle Lamey (yes, I am going to name
my accomplices) and her daughter Jolene were going
Huckleberry picking. I really didn’t want to tag along. In this
particular place, and I quote “They are as big as grapes”! I
thought “As big as grapes!” Absolutely “No Way!”, but what
‘if’… and I didn’t go? Well that statement sucked me in, so off
we went. We drove and drove the backroads for about an
hour when Jolene says “Carol….its pretty rugged country!” I’m
thinking, “oh yeah? I know what rugged country is like.” Well,
I’ve got to say Jolene was right, after hiking straight down a
steep hill through Devil’s Club thinking all the way down that
this was the only way back out of there. I gave Jolene a few of
my tips on what to do when encountering a bear before she
settled down in a patch of berries. Michelle took me up the
creek a distance and I started picking and she continued on up
the creek so we were all pretty much a ways from each other.
Oh yeah, the berries were big, but, as big as grapes? Well, I
guess it is all in the eye of the beholder!

After about 45 minutes, I hear a blood curdling scream coming
from where Jolene had been. Then, I see a blonde ponytail
bouncing up and down flying through the air coming straight
for me. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that it was
a bear and Jolene was heading directly for me. She landed
right on top of me and the bear veered off and disappeared.
She had lost her pail along with her berries. The three of us
still get a chuckle especially every huckleberry season.
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