Favorite Edibles for Northbounders

[SkinnyT]

I was just wondering what everyone's favorite edible plants and insects are along the AT if you wanted to go a little "Man vs Wild" on the trail.

If possible, list plant/insect - region and month/season - how it's consumed (spice, tea, raw/cooked) and any other handy info.

Of course a southern boy myself, I look for ramps (leeks for you carpetbaggers) and morel mushrooms in the spring. Ramps are very common in spring at higher altitudes. For morels, temperatures need to climb into the sixties during the day and are no colder than the forties at night. A day or so after a good rain is when I have found it to be the best. You should look in stream and river beds and around fallen timber.

Grasshoppers can be fun too. Pinch the head and you can pull out the intestines. You can eat it raw but they can be known to carry worms so best fry those guys.

Happy Hunting!

*Disclaimer: Identify for certain what you are putting in your body

[Manwich]

if you wanted to go a little "Man vs Wild" on the trail.

I think you mean Survivorman.

Going 'Man vs Wild' on the trail means you're extracting water from feces, leaping off of jagged rock faces with uncertainty and jumping into the nearest river for no reason whatsoever.

[WritinginCT]

Okay you had me at the plants - but lost me at the grasshopper intestines

[fiddlehead]

I think you'll find that ramps will be one of the few edible plants that NOBO eat.
If it was SOBO'ers, i'd say fiddleheads.

But, ramps are not as prevalant as they once were near the trail from what i understand and have seen (haven't hiked GA for 7 years now)
Part of this problem is perhaps from overeating them by hikers. It is probably best to leave them alone unless you go far off trail to find them. That way, people can observe and learn without rendering them obsolete close to the trail.

As for the insects, i never ate any on the trail but buy them (fried) now that i live in a country where you see them for sale almost everyday. I like fried maggots but my wife prefers beetles.

[TrippinBTM]

I think you mean Survivorman.

Going 'Man vs Wild' on the trail means you're extracting water from feces, leaping off of jagged rock faces with uncertainty and jumping into the nearest river for no reason whatsoever.

man that guy bugs me. I miss Les.

Anyways, this is an easy one. The best were the wineberries we had at the Monkery. Er, that was our name for the monestary just north of the Hudson River. They were so freakin good. But that was the only time we found them. I guess that was early June.

But as for abundance, the blueberries were the best, especially in PA. There were mullberries, black berries and boysen berries too. I try to remember PA for the berries, not the rocks. Blueberries lasted on into Maine, but the were small and kinda poor up there. Not sure if it was because of the season being over for them, or the bad weather New England got; but they were better in PA, NJ, and NY, June-July.

Also, at Standing Bear Farm, someone gave us morels, which were awesome.

But I don't know tons of wild edibles, and didn't go out of my way for any.

[Cool AT Breeze]

I cought and ate a crawdad in the spring just south of Iron Mt. shelter.

[Nicksaari]

...and carrying a film crew with you. bear grylis is a douche

[Nicksaari]

blueberries, man. and all the places along SNP to get milkshakes at 7 bucks a pop

[KG4FAM]

not a food, but i love chewing sourwood leaves

[SkinnyT]

I don't know, SurvivorMan seems a bit squeamish to me. Perhaps its the Canuck in him. I have nil intentions on drinking my own pee on the trial like bear, but I wanna get medieval on that...anyways. Not a big proponent of hording anything along the trial, just wanting to get back to nature a bit between noodles.

[Deadeye]

Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, chanterelle mushrooms, trout, perch, bass, crawdads, apples

[Kanati]

Lots of mice around the shelters. Good eatin but takes several to make a mess. My favorite way to fix them is battered in pancake mix and deep fried in your pot with olive oil over an open fire. Must have the oil very hot so it will boil when you drop them in. There are two types of mice. One is the field mouse. It more grey in color and not nearly as large as the house mouse which inhabit the shelters. The house mouse is the one you want. Lots of ideas on WB as how to catch them. Nothing like a good old fashion trap baited with peanut butter which is in good supply on the trail.

Those frogs in the springs are also good but hard to sneak upon and catch. Best done at night with a light. Eat only the legs. Make a gig from cane along the streams in some places. Skin and fry. These are not the large bull frogs which are sold comercially but just as tasty.

You can eat anything that walks, crawls, slithers or flys. But beware, Your fellow hikers will frown on you for harming the wildlife. And yes, even a mouse is wildlife.

Happy hiking and please eat out of the supermarkets!!! That's what I did.

[emerald]

I'll bet few here have ever eaten hackberries. They are unlike anything most people have ever eaten, but they are interesting. Unfortunately, they are more seed than flesh so aren't of much food value. Try one or two when you get the opportunity. Like cherries, they are called by botanists drupes and are brown, sometimes almost black, when ripe.

[emerald]

I like serviceberries better than blueberries, but you'd be hard pressed to get any before birds eat them.

[emerald]

I like teaberries too also known as checkerberries.

[sticks&stones]

wild chives on the north side of moxie bald

[Blissful]

Yes, enjoyed lots of great berries in New England. Raspberries, blackberries. And of course, blueberries in Maine.

[emerald]

Dried fruits can be added to hot cereal or trail mixes. Someone put dried Michigan tart cherries in my steel-cut oats this morning. They were wonderful. Dried wild blueberries and cranberries are readily sourced.

I'd dry serviceberries and blueberries for later use if I could produce enough.

[emerald]

Some time ago, there was once a thread that was all about ramps. Contributors Googled until the sun when down and when it came up again the next day, they were still posting all kinds of interesting facts about range, preparation and propagation.

One interesting fact discovered was that you won't find ramps on the A.T. in Georgia unless you discover an unknown population.

[dovecote]

Along the trail in West Virginia, morels are prevalent in mid to late April. Pawpaws and Chestnuts can be found around mid September into early October.