Sad Year for Blackberries

8/31/2011

The blackberries are not looking to hot this year. They are drying up as soon as they ripen. This is part of the problem for the bears. The berry crops are not producing enough food for the bears to eat. We have also heard tells of a lot of yellow jacket issues. If you are allergic to any type of insect sting, please make sure you have the appropriate medicine with you in case you come in contact with these little devils. We have seen several yellow jacket nests that looks like a bear may have dug up the nest. It is always good to be well equipped when out in the backcountry.

Jennifer

8/31/2011 02:45:36 am

How sad... what can we do about it?

tomk

8/31/2011 02:53:29 am

The best thing to do is to eat them while they are fresh!

We passed through a berry patch near the Jumpoff. There were a lot of bushes, but not much fruit. Of what was there, only a small fraction was ripe enough to eat and we managed a small handful apiece.

The question that I had was the extent to which berries are available farther off the trail. If bears mostly follow human trails to move around, then the scat would concentrate berry seeds near trails. To the extent that bears move off trail, their scat would carry seeds everywhere.

Since all of my GSMNP experience is ON trail, I have no idea. Anyone find a mess-o-berries off trail?

Marsha

8/31/2011 03:53:57 am

The blackberries in our area did the same. I went berry picking several times and only got a small handful. I was very disappointed.

Diane

8/31/2011 07:12:03 am

What are the consequences for the bears--short term and long term?

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Sad Year for Blackberries

LeConte Lodge

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