I just got back from Rumford Whitecap this afternoon. I have given up on the over abundant years from 25 years ago when the berries were were raked by locals but the berries are the best in the last 5 years. I was about a week early so a fair share of unripe ones but I got my quota. My guess is the dry weather is going to impact the crop. Note compared to typical natural patch, it is still a lot of berries. This was the first year I had seen all the four varieties in relative abundance, the least abundant were the alpine variety, they are tart and few people really pick them so no loss. The silver berries are back and abundant in patches but small, they need rain or they will stay small. The regular low bush berries are abundant. I did find a few ripe patches of the black variety but many patches were unripe. I saw a new variety that I have not seen before which are dark blue mixed in some of low bush patches.
My guess is next weekend will be peak. The berries in my neighborhood are still mostly green.
BTW I took the alternative route to the summit per the recommendations on the signage near the trailhead. I have done it in the past and had some issues following the route in the past and this time I lost it. The trail in the woods is easy to follow but once tis break out on the ledges its easy to get off track. I did and spent 45 minutes or so wandering the subpeak. Lots of old flagging and cairns everywhere. I knew where the summit was but someone not comfortable with off trail navigation might have gotten quite nervous. I sent a note to the Mahoosuc Land Trust suggesting that the blazing needs to be improved. I cant recomend it and suggest sticking to the main route up and back. For dog folks bring water as the normal sources are dry or close to dry.
BTW, my quota was 2 gallons. I still need to clean them and pick out the unripe ones.
