[at-l] AT-L = 95% Junk

[ellen at clinic.net (ellen)]

Kelly

I think you're thinking of "ramps," a wild leek, that used to be plentiful along the trail in Georgia and North Carolina. I read recently that digging them is now banned someplace -- probably the Smokies -- but I forget for sure. The complaint was too many hikers are taking too many ramps, causing them to be increasingly rare.

I ate a few in 1993. There are a lot of books on wild foods, but the best way to learn is find a knowledgeable person to show you if possible. The nuances of appearance are difficult to describe using just words. Logan in 1993 made a study of wild foods. His goal was to find a different wild food daily. But it was more a stunt than a useful source of food. There is rarely time on a long distance hike to find, harvest, clean and cook most wild foods. It was fun sampling his finds, however.

I mostly confine my foraging to berries. Some of the Maine summits have amazing crops of blue berries. The plants require pruning to bear well. The combination of wind, rain and ice seems to prune ridgeline berries better than berries in the low lands. 

Weary