I gathered some stinging nettles to try them on Friday when I was hooter hunting. I missed 3 birds that day. I don’t know how. Same ammo. Same gun. Etc.
The nettles have to be picked with gloves. They are found in snow chutes where the trees can’t grow on open slopes. When steamed or cooked in any way for 30 seconds, they are sting free. They were delicious. Reminded me of swiss chard.
So today, I went back up to Eaglecrest and up a side slope. I first came on fiddleheads galore, so I picked those for an hour. They were in the woods just up the slope from the creek I had to cross. When I got into the open of the snow chute, the nettles tended to be clustered up the little creeks coming down the hill. I gathered them for about an hour, and there were big fiddleheads out there, too, but I stuck to the nettles.
I took my gun just in case a hooter was near enough to go after but I did not hear one close enough to give up the gathering of spring greens.
I will try to get up there weekly now as spring turns into summer and put as much of that up for fresh eating and the freezer.