It’S Not About The Berries But The Experience

In the mountains of North Idaho there is a distinctive smell in the air. Musk and darkened earth mixes with a fragrant tinge of huckleberry that is a unique smell of a wild and natural world.

The berries are as large as your thumb. Some say this summer’s huckleberry crop is the largest and best in years. People who have never picked before are enjoying beginners luck - berries close to the road in bushes clumped with the huge purple berries. In three hours of serious picking, one can walk away with nearly a gallon. The berries are selling for $25-$30 a gallon.

In Kootenai County, berries can be found on Coeur d’Alene Mountain, Fernan Saddle and the top of Fourth of July Pass.

North Idaho has long been a region plentiful in huckleberry-gathering grounds for Kalispell, Salish, Kootenai and Coeur d’Alene Indians. In a tradition going back centuries, native peoples spent the early parts of August near the Bonners Ferry, Clark Fork, Priest Lake, Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe regions to pick berries. The well-worn paths in the otherwise wilderness mark years of use.

Worley resident and Coeur d’Alene tribal member Inez SiJohn, age 68, remembers her childhood berry picking with her grandparents who she called “Kana” and “Hoppy.” They were Lucy and Ignace Garry.

In the late 1930s, the mountains outside of Bonners Ferry were alive with the sounds of singing and the sounds of sticks pounding in a gambling game called stick game.

“Spokanes, Flatheads, Coeur d’Alenes, Kalispels and Kootenais would get together for two weeks to pick,” she said. “They would gamble with stick game. I would get to stay up until midnight. I would visit campfire to campfire. I would find me a boyfriend. It was better than a powwow because it lasted longer.”

Inez and her grandparents drove up to the mountains in an old red International pickup truck. Berry picking was an important summer ritual of her childhood. Kana brought jars and a canning kettle to the mountain for preserving berries for the winter. Although the work was hard the evening gave way to socializing.

“Kana and Hoppy wouldn’t gamble, but loved to sit and visit around the campfire telling stories,” she said. “Kana would buy berries but only if the people were hard up and needed money. They needed gas money or gambled it all away. She’d grumble, buy their berries and tell them to go home.”

Recently Inez went picking at a few of these ancient gathering spots with friends. “I tried to climb the mountain. I fell and rolled down. I got bruises.” she told herself: “I am too old. Why can’t I be like my ancestors who could climb these mountains?” Age and poor health are catching up with her. In the 90-degree weather, she and her friends sat in lawn chairs next to their van, poured bottled water over their heads and shed a few tears for days gone by.

Not a lot has changed with berry picking since the late ‘30s. Four-wheel drives can race up most mountain roads. A venture to the mountains today takes only one day back and forth. Logging roads make the berry patches more accessible. Many pickers have become territorial about berry patches. But there are plenty of berries for everyone this year.

A trip into the mountains is a good excuse to bring a family together. Long after the berries are gone the memories last a lifetime. It’s not about the volume of berries but the experience of being in the mountains of North Idaho.

“It smells different being up in the mountains,” Inez said. “With my senses I can smell the berries and hear the underbrush. Even though a car brought you up here, you’re going back in time. All this is given to you to use. I find a log, lay there, look at the clouds, and talk to God. I say `thank you for letting me be around for another year.”’