Fill a bucket with sweet seasonal berries

Spring rains make way for summer sun and berries. And it indeed is a long tasty season on the South Coast once the berries ripen.

The brilliant orange salmon berries are the season's first, ripening in late May and well into June. These raspberry-like treats are sweet and watery - perfect thirst quenchers for hikers.

Ruby red thimble berries are next. Shaped like a small cap, these raspberry family members are a summer treat that last into mid-summer when salal berries begin their sweet purple appearance. But be quick. Thimble berries are a preferred snack for busy songbirds.

The salal berries are a member of the heath family, closely related to huckleberries and blueberries, and they taste best cooked into jam, jelly, pie or cobbler. Only eat these sweet berries around your family and closest friends who would still find you attractive with purple teeth and a black tongue. A nutritious berry with a long season, salal berries were favored by the Indians of the South Coast.

The most popular berries on the South Coast today are the several varieties of juicy blackberries. These versatile berries can be picked with the risk of encounters with prickly thorns, but many consider the chance of bloodletting worth it. Watch for these jewels in late summer and early fall, although the tiny, sweet blackcaps often ripen earlier in the summer.

To collect your own native coastal berries, take an empty coffee can or other container on your rambles. Every hike may result in sweet rewards other than fresh air and magnificent vistas.

Come fall, red and purple huckleberries dot bushes along sloughs on hilltops. These tart treats require focused dedication to pick enough for a pie or other delicacy, but the work is worth the effort.

Scavenge for mushrooms after a rain

It takes a keen eye and a hankering to hike.

Deep in the moss, under logs, on fallen timber and even in plain sight, mushrooms can be a pleasant bounty on the South Coast for the experienced gatherer.

To those with a keen eye, and a knowledge of what to look for, fleshy fungus can be seen sprouting just about anywhere in the forests around Coos County and on the South Coast.

Granted, that doesn't leave the beginning mushroom picker much to work with. Mushrooms come in thousands of varieties - some poisonous, others delicious - and the South Coast is home to hundreds of types. Common varieties found on the coast include the candy cap, oyster, bolete, blacks, morels and hedgehog mushrooms. The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area can be a competitive field to find prized matsutake mushrooms and the Japanese pine mushroom, considered by some a delicacy for their peppery flavor. But be sure to check regulations and permitting issues if hunting mushrooms on the Oregon Dunes.

One of the most prevalent mushrooms on the South Coast is chanterelles. Easily identifiable, with a golden or orange color, chanterelles are an exquisite find, although even they can be confused with a poisonous type.

Mushroom experts recommend buying a field guide with photos and a brief description of mushrooms before going on a hunt. Books written by professional mycologists can be the most handy, but the simplest way to find safe mushrooms to eat is to go with an experienced hunter. Professionals also suggest using a knife to cut the stalk at the base - instead of pulling mushrooms straight from the ground - may help a patch grow in the future.

For those venturing deep in the forests, keeping within talking distance of a partner can help avoid getting separated and lost. Carry a compass or GPS and know how to use it.

Wearing a whistle also can help in case of injury and letting a relative or neighbor know where one is headed also is important.

Fungus enthusiasts can pick up to a gallon of mushrooms per day in the Coos County Forest or on state and U.S. Bureau of Land Management land without purchasing permits. Those who wish to pick mushrooms on U.S. Forest Service land must contact the nearest ranger station for permits. On state and county land, the Coos County Forestry Department or the Oregon Department of Forestry doles out permits.

When's the best time to go? Two weeks after a rain.