After Dinner Hike
This evening after dinner, the four of us hiked up to an historic crib dam site on the Mosquito Creek. I had come across it this morning on a run/exploration, and wanted to take the boys back there. It was a great spot to cool off on a hot summer night, and what a salmonberry feast we had...I have never seen such enormous berries!!! Julian climbed up to check out the creek above the dam; the canyon walls there are like the Capilano Canyon. There was ample evidence of this past winter's snow/wind storms...in fact, there was a sign posted telling us the trail was impassable (hah!). And of course, there was the requisite throwing of large rocks into deep pools to make big splashes! A good outing all around.
6 comments:
That looks like a lot of fun on a hot summer night. What is a crib dam? I've never heard of that. Those berries are certainly yummy looking. Who is holding them? Is that Nicholas?
great discovery Marybeth. I bet it felt good to be in that cool, deep canyon on a hot summer day. I like the photo of the water splashing with the big rock. Cool! And those salmonberries -- delicious. We don't have salmonberries or blackberries out here in our part of Montana, though they do grow on the west side of the Rockies, by Missoula and in Glacier Park. Too dry for them here. We have wild raspberries and huckleberries, though. Kinda makes up for the lack of blackberries.
Mom, I should have said timber crib dam...they were used in areas where timber was plentiful, concrete was expensive, the required height was not too great, and access was difficult. They were usually not meant to be permanent, although there are some still around in good condition.
They are built not unlike a log cabin, with logs placed 2-3' apart and spiked to others placed across them at right angles...the spaces in between are filled with rocks.
Yes, that is Nicholas holding the berries.
Maureen, do you have thimbleberries where you live?
Hey MB, great pictures! We noticed the salmon berries in Alaska were huge too! We didn't stop to pick any because apparently they are very popular with the native people and they don't take too kindly to others picking in their patch. I am sure Margie can relate to this from her experience with blackberries!
We didn't pick too many, as we figured they are probably pretty popular with the natives too...in this case the bears and birds!
MB, yes we have thimble berries here -- up in the mountains, usually on the north slopes where there is more tree cover and shade. We often find them along old backcountry dirt roads that go through the forest. They're a tasty flavor-packed treat -- never do find many at one time. When we used to meet up in Alaska with our ongoing study group (our summer meetings, which are now held at Shasta used to be about an hour outside of Juneau) we feasted on thimbleberries. And salmonberries. What a temptation when you're out on your vision quest for days without food or water -- and a bush of succulent salmonberries is hanging just within reach! (grin)
Kat -- it's a good thing to leave most of the berries for the First Nation people who depend on them for food. Very considerate of you.
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