SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - It's been a great year for berries, according to resident pickers.

Kathy Mitchell has been picking berries around Yellowknife since moving to the city 30 years ago.

Edith Mair happily shows off her freshly picked raspberries from a previous summer. Every year she takes advantage of the berries that grow in and around Yellowknife, often using them to make jam. - photo courtesy of Edith Mair -

She offered advice to first-time pickers.

"Never give away your spots," said Mitchell. Without getting too specific, she said up the Ingraham Trail is always a good bet for finding fruit.

Mitchell said that a couple weeks ago she and her son collected 12 cups of raspberries in one hour.

The good news, according to Mitchell, is because of the hot weather in the summer and a good amount of rain, the raspberries turned out plump. The bad news is the picking season for that particular berry is pretty much over.

Apparently the end of July and beginning of August is ideal picking time for the raspberries.

But Mitchell said with the coming fall brings cranberries ripe for the picking. It's no surprise that when the berries are ripe black bears are sometimes present.

Mitchell had some advice when it came to being bear aware. "Bring a friend that you can run faster than," she said jokingly.

During her recent berry picking trip up the Ingraham Trail Mitchell encountered a black bear two hundred feet away. "He was happily eating his berries," she said.

Two hours later Mitchell said the bear was still there enjoying nature's candy.

She said pickers should exercise some caution when picking, suhc as bringing a bear banger and staying downwind from the animals if spotted.

Another one of Yellowknife's expert berry pickers, Edith Mair, agreed this summer's weather has been good for berries.

"This year's been so plentiful," said Mair, who unfortunately missed part of the picking season when she went on vacation to Scotland. "I was angry I had to leave," she said.

Mair, who has been berry picking for 36 years around the city, mostly uses berries to make jam or to put in pancakes.

Other than raspberries, Mair said she also picks black currants.

For finding raspberries she recommended sandy spots, for black currants, areas with lots of moisture like along lake shores, are good, and as for the gooseberries, it gets a little tricky.

"Gooseberries are more difficult to pick because of the prickles," said Mair. "But they make lovely jam."

Out of all those berries out the both pickers agreed there are two berries around Yellowknife that are more prized than the rest.

"Blueberries and wild strawberries are few and far between," said Mitchell.

"Unless you know the spots and I haven't found them yet."

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