My husband and I hiked my favorite trail the past two weekends and foraged for huckleberries each time. Huckleberries are only ripe for so short a window we make a point to hike twice during their season, picking them for pie. Having done this a couple of years now I believe it is a tradition that we intend to do as long as we are able to hike up the mountain.
Tips: We (living in Western Oregon) have found huckleberries to be ripe from mid/late August to early September. The higher up in elevation you forage, the sweeter they seem to be. They take a long time to pick enough for a pie, count on adding at least an hour to your hike for enough picking time. It took an hour with my husband and I both picking while totally surrounded by huckleberries. If you fall short on enough berries you can add blueberries and still have a great pie! Rubbermaid makes a great plastic container with a snap on lid that is a 5 cup size. I recommend something like that to be sure you pick enough. We each use a bag to pick and dump in the tub to measure how much more we need to go. The hard plastic of the tub also protects the berries as they easily rupture and you don’t want that with all of your hard work. Lastly check local sites for info on where there are berries, if you need permits, etc. https://www.oregonhikers.org/ is my favorite site for Oregon and Southwest Washington trails!
Huckleberry Pie recipe-I use the Pillsbury double crust recipe (2 cups all purpose flour, 2/3 cup veg. shortening, 1 teaspoon salt forked together and when all mixed where it is crumbling add 5-7 tbsp ice water and work into 2 equal size balls)
Pie filling- I base mine off of https://www.food.com/recipe/wild-huckleberry-pie-349872 with some minor adjustments. I’ve found huckleberries to be REALLY juicy and sweet, so I add one more spoon of tapioca and the zest from a whole large lemon, and cover the pie top with foil while I bake, uncovering at the end for around 15 min or until golden.
With adjustments included, this is how I do it: In a large mixing bowl dump 5 cups of rinsed wild huckleberries, 4 tbsp cornstarch, 5 tbsp tapioca, 3 tbsp butter (I leave mine at room temp and it mixes in well enough!), 1.5 cups granulated white sugar, zest from 1 large lemon. Mix with a spatula until everything is pretty evenly distributed.
Roll out one of the pie dough balls and use as bottom crust. Fill with pie filling, top with a couple small daubs of butter. Top with second crust, seal edges and poke holes in top to vent. Cover top of pie with foil. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 min on middle rack, lower temp to 350 and bake for 30 min. Uncover and bake for another 15 min or until golden brown.