Blueberry Picking on the Gunflint Trail

A week ago, I took a day canoe trip on the Pine and Granite Rivers with one of my coworkers.  Those rivers mark the border between the United States of America and Canada.  To find them on a map of Minnesota, look at Cook County (the tip of the Arrowhead over Lake Superior).  Follow the international border from Lake Superior until it takes a sharp turn to the north.  You have then found the Pine and Granite Rivers.  The Pine River is south of Granite Lake, and the Granite River flows north from Granite Lake.

The two rivers are in a large granite formation (Saganaga Batholith).  Both rivers were burned during the Ham Lake Fire of 2007.  The combination of those two factors makes for some great blueberry picking.

We started out the day by paddling far down the river to the Swamp Portage.  Along the way, we stopped to eat blueberries, Saskatoon berries, and raspberries.  Our plan was to pick some berries to save on the way back.

The swamp portage was beautiful.  We had little rain for the previous few weeks, so it was not as wet as I remembered it.  However, there was still some great amphibian life present.

Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens)

Swamp Portage

American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)

Granite River from the Swamp Portage

After the Swamp Portage, we turned around and headed south.  There were blueberries all along the river, and we stopped a few miles to the south to pick our fill.  We also ate out lunches, as well as a lot of Saskatoon berries, raspberries, and pin cherries.

Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbusum)

Saskatoon Berries (Amelanchier alnifolia)

Bucket of Blueberries - I added a few more inches of berries after this picture was taken.

When we were finishing picking our berries, several thunderstorms came into the area.  We had to wait over an hour for the storm to pass, and then we were able to paddle home.

Thunderstorm on the Pine River

Tips of Picking Blueberries on the Gunflint Trail:

1. Look for the best blueberry patches in the burned areas on the granite hillsides of the upper Gunflint Trail.
2. Bring a gallon ice cream pail for carrying your berries.  It is a wide top, and carries a lot of berries.
3. Ask the locals for good picking spots.
4. Keep your car or boat is sight, as it is easy to get turned around in the burn areas.
5. Be a clean picker.  Pick only the ripe berries.  It is better to sort the berries in the field instead of when you want to eat them.  Dirty pickers (who rip everything off the berry bush) are very wasteful and inefficient.
6. Freeze your berries directly in the ice cream bucket.  There is no need to wash them until you are ready to eat them.