I’ve always been a bit of a forager but never would really claim myself to be. When I was little I spent a lot of time in the woods picking wild strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, pin cherries, basically any berry I knew was edible.

As I got older I started to notice even more edibles in the forests and even the city. When I was living in Austin there was a pecan tree on just about every corner and when the nuts were falling fall from the trees there were more than enough to go around.

On my trip home I knew I would be gathering both wintergreen leaves and juniper berries for a root beer recipe I found. I knew where to find both quite easily and I also kept my eyes open for a few more things I hoped to find. Turns out I didn’t find any wild cranberries or autumn olive berries but I did find what I was looking for and also a few bonuses.

The edible green leaf below is sorrel and I found some near where our cabin was so I had a little with my tuna salad and my uncle used the rest to top on our pizzas (pizza right? pretty crazy camping food, he carried all the ingredients in and the rest of us had no problem helping him eat it).

I used some of the juniper berries I found to make camping cocktails (gin/juniper berries/lemonade mix/water). I also found some raspberries!! I was shocked to find them but ever so pleased. They were lingering on a dying raspberry plant but they were still good to eat and tasted just like summer.

While foraging is very rewarding and exciting it can be dangerous. I would suggest if you are interested that you get a really great guide book and be sure you know what you’re eating. I never consume anything in the woods unless I’m 100% sure it’s edible.