Triton and the Mountains

A few weeks ago, we decided to take Triton huckleberry picking. I didn't think that the berries were ready to be picked, but we decided to at least take a little drive anyway. The berries were in fact not ready to be picked. They were little nubs of green, unlike the plump purple color they need to be. At first we wanted to find a babysitter for Triton, but then I figured why not? Let's take him and see how he does.
This last Monday night we decided to press our luck again. Sheri returned home from work and we started on our way about 4:00. A friend of a friend had supposedly been up there a couple of days before and picked some and said they were ready.
We arrived at our normal spot to find another car parked there. Which really wasn't that big of a deal, there is a whole mountain, so sharing with others isn't that big of a deal. We heard the other people, but they weren't in the area that I like to go to so I was happy. We spayed ourselves down with bug spray and headed up the mountain. I didn't realize that Sheri was allowing Triton to walk, but he was trucking right up the hill. I wasn't in a hurry to get to my normal area, because I wanted to see if there were berries ready to be picked at all. So, I was looking at the bushes here and there, and that was when I noticed how amazing Triton was moving. He didn't care about the terrain, he didn't care that most bushes were bigger than he was, he was just going. His first time in the rugged outdoors suited him just fine. On the lower part of the hill/mountain there are trails and he was basically leading the way! As soon as I realized that the berries were indeed ready for harvest, I realized that the speed we were traveling at was way too slow. I headed in the direction that I usually like and Sheri and Triton followed. I figured Triton would be okay with his mom because I am the kind of person who likes to move around a lot when picking huckleberries. It is kind of like fishing as a kid. If I didn't catch a fish in my first cast or two I was ready to move to a different spot. Huckleberry picking is the same way for me. I like to find the bigger better berries and they must be in a bush that isn't the one that I am currently looking in. The berries were ready to be picked like I said, however there weren't a bunch like I had hoped. We picked for like an hour. Triton wanted to be with me? He loves his mom, for sure the biggest momma's boy there is, but today he wanted me. I didn't mind that much, but moving from place to place with a two year old in the thick bush is not that fun. Sheri can stay in one little area and be happy picking berries from one spot. So, I tried to leave Triton with her once, that didn't go that well when Triton spotted me up the hill away from them. He did manage to get up to me by himself though. I dropped him off with her again after a few minutes and headed where they couldn't see me. Then I found the biggest bunch of huckleberries ever. There was a load of bushes together and there were loads of berries on them. I told Sheri to get up to this area, so I raced back down to where they were, that way I could carry Triton. We stayed there the rest of the time that we were there and probably picked some 32 ounces a piece. I didn't really like the berries we were picking because they weren't as big as I like, but there was a bunch and we were able to stay together.
Triton actually helped pick berries, at first he squished a few but that was only a couple. After that, he picked them just fine. I let him eat a few and he loved them. We let him wander just a bit here and there, but not too far from arm's length. He found a patch of loose dirt up where I was and he was done picking berries. He wanted to play in the dirt and was disappointed when I had to move down the mountain a bit. He helped pick again. A storm started brewing and Triton was doing the weirdest thing. The wind whipped through the trees above. He looked up and upon seeing and hearing what the wind was doing to the trees he kind of howled like a wolf? I thought it was cute and wondered why he was doing such a thing? My boy part werewolf? The wind calmed for a few minutes and again, it returned with the same furry as before and he again looked up and around, then started this little howl again? Cute as could be. I could tell it was going to rain, so I told Sheri that we were ready to go. Down by the car is this patch of loose dirt that is probably an inch in a half to two inches deep. We were loading up and Triton was running through this loose dirt, just loving it. Proving that he is a boy, he fell down and a cloud of dirt filled the air. He picked himself up with a smile and started running through the dirt again. He threw a fit when he realized we were leaving. Was he upset we were leaving to go home? Or, was he upset that we were leaving his werewolf brothers?

I had told my grandmother on my mom's side that I would show her where we pick huckleberries. So, I felt a bit guilty about not inviting her that night. So, I called her the next day and asked if she wanted to go up. She said that the next day would be fine. We headed out of town with Grandma, Frank (her husband), Jared (my cousin), Triton and I. This time we headed out about 10:30am and it was a Wednesday. With it being so early and it being a weekday I didn't think that we would run into anyone up there. We arrived at the area where we normally park and there were two cars there. Only enough space for maybe one more car, but Frank was following in a separate vehicle so I was going to turn around and park there and have him park on the other side of the road. We drove a bit more and discovered another 2 vehicles parked. We had to drive a ways to find a spot to turn around, but we finally managed and one our way we went. We never saw or heard anyone else up there this time, despite the numerous vehicles parked. I don't know where they were picking berries but we saw 4 guys when we left and it didn't look like they had found a very good spot to pick from because they didn't have that many berries?
My grandma didn't know what type of bushes the huckleberries grew on so I had to show her. The rain in the mountains that first night we were there must have done something good for the berries because there was a bunch down on the lower area that weren't there two days previous. I was able to show grandma what the berries looked like and which ones to pick. I was happy that there were berries so close to the road so that my old crazy grandma didn't have to walk so far up the mountain side. Jared, Triton and I headed to the same spot that I had found before and started picking. There were indeed plenty of berries, but in this same area the berries were not the size that I like, there were about half the size that I wanted. Of course they all taste the same, but the bigger ones take up more space and it is easier to fill up cups/buckets faster with bigger berries. I told Jared I was moving from that area and left him there. I headed toward the area that I like most of all, the same spot where I had looked the night before (maybe a little farther down), and found the size of berries that I liked. They weren't as plentiful as the area with the small berries but I didn't care. I picked here and there, and was pleased with the move. This day I brought little to go coffee cups, instead of a big bucket. I knew with Sheri not there that I might have to feed, change or entertain Triton all by myself. I had packed a few things and put them in the backpack. I knew that I would be able to pick enough berries to fill a cup and simply put a lid on it, put it in the backpack and so on and so on. This time I had given Triton his own cup. He loved that idea. He picked berries just as good as the next guy, but with the bushes being so big and tasting so good he would either trip and fall and spill them, or simply eat them. I was fine with letting him do what he wanted, but once we moved to the area with the bigger berries I wasn't so thrilled with him spilling the nice big huckleberries. I would ask to see how much he had, and if he had more than ten berries in his cup I would dump them into mine. I thought it might upset him, but it didn't at all. Instead he decided that once he picked one berry he would put it in his cup and then dump his one berry from his cup into my cup. This got old real fast because he was just slowing me down. I was still amazed at how he didn't squish a single berry! We kept migrating to the right away from the small berry patch. Jared had joined us by then. I knew it was probably time for Triton to eat, but I didn't want to stop and take him down to the car to eat his snacks. He didn't like sitting on the ground at all! He only wanted to sit down if it was on my lap. Thus, I knew that I would have to take him to the car soon so eat his snacks. It was then that I found the craziest place ever! There was this bush that was maybe 4 feet by 4 feet and it had the most huckleberries I had ever seen on one bush. This little bush probably had 800 to 1,200 berries on it. These weren't the small berries either! In the first area with the small berries you might be lucky to get 100 berries in that amount of space. What was the best part of this bush was the fact that there was this nice stump right next to it that Triton was able to sit and eat his snacks. He ate and ate, while I picked and picked. I filled 4 of those to go coffee cups and was ready to leave. I could have stayed, but I didn't have anymore cups. I returned home with Triton after dropping Jared off at grandma's to discover that it was 2:30! I didn't think it was that late already, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Triton hadn't missed nap time yet, so I fed him and laid him down.
Triton was so good that it just amazed me. Let's just see if he likes the same berries that he kept shoveling into his mouth the same if they are in a pie?