Blueberry picking expedition to Olnes Pond turns into good excuse for a hike

My wife and I went blueberry picking today along the pipeline access road just past Olnes Pond, about 20 miles northwest of Fairbanks off the Elliott highway. It is a beautiful area adjacent to the Chatanika River.

We found a few good berry bushes, but the pickings were spotty. Our berry picking turned into a good excuse for a hike.

We followed a four-wheeler path north of the road that wound through the black spruce and ended up on the banks of a beautiful slough.

Along the way we found lowbush cranberries just starting to ripen, rose hips, highbush cranberries, and even some cloudberries. There were also a fair number of mushrooms pushing up through the moss and lichens.