> You cannot legally collect berries in the woods.
A minor point, but this is generally legal in the UK if you're doing it for personal consumption [1]. I expect other countries have similarly permissive exceptions.
And to strengthen that: We're talking not just on public land, but in privately owned forests too.
When I grew up in Norway, the notion of whether or not a forest area was owned was moot - many of the places we went for walks or went to collect berries and mushrooms probably were, but I can't tell you which were and which were public, as it was totally irrelevant to us as we have the same legal rights of access either way.
You are free to pick black berries in much of Friday Harbor and the rest of the San Juans (and they are everywhere). Many people hunt shrooms in national forests, and then there is the sea. The Pacific Northwest is a nice place for these kinds of things.
Oh please. Yes, if land is posted "No Trespassing" you shouldn't be, well, trespassing. And, indeed, if you're doing something like hunting you could get in trouble, arrested even. Otherwise I expect if the property owner saw you, you'd simply be asked to leave. And that would be it unless you refused to leave or made a habit of it.
That said, there are lots of places where there is a mix of public and private where no one is going to bother anyone if you're just walking around. There's plenty such property in my town in the US.
As for getting shot, maybe if you run across someone's marijuana crop, still, or other illegal activity. But any property owner that starts shooting at a trespasser is going to be in very deep trouble. And I'm quite confident in saying it's not standard practice.
A minor point, but this is generally legal in the UK if you're doing it for personal consumption [1]. I expect other countries have similarly permissive exceptions.
[1] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/section/4