Spokane, WA

Every year our family goes out to pick huckleberries. The Native American name for them is Olallie.

I have been picking them since I was about age three. My grandmother and great grandma and dad all picked them. My children picked them every year when they were growing up. We canned some, froze some, dried some, made some into pies or put them in muffins or pancakes. I grew up picking them in the largest huckleberry feilds in the world in Gifford Pinchot national forest above Trout Lake, Washington. My kids picked them and we sold them in the 1980’s for $12-15.00 per gallon and they earned their school clothes that way.

When we moved to the Spokane area we did not pick for a few years as we were not familiar with the area. However seven years ago we located a good area to pick up on Mt. Spokane. The exact location of picking I am not able to divulge but they are a lot of work to pick. They are sweet and tart there are actually about 8 varities of huckleberries. They ripen about mid July and are on until Mid September.

We walk four and half miles in to pick them and out again. We usually pick around 6-10 gallons per day. We used to go out when my kids were young and pick them 4 days a week but now it is about 2 days a week as they are harder to get to. My grandkids are now picking them and we sold them again this year for $50.00 per gallon. It takes about one hour to pick a gallon for the average adult picker and half gallon for any child under 10. We will pick them and sell them again next year too so long as they don’t blight out due to not enough moisture or it does not get too dry in the wood. It is one of the annual things our family looks forward to every year.