Great job - I just finished a cup of Chaga tea. As the water gets down in the pot I will add a bit more - simmer on the wood stove. It is amazing how many cups of dark tea you can get from a small handful of pieces. When I eventually have leftovers I will put them in a bucket with bits and pieces I get from processing and make a tea water for my wife for the garden. I have been using Amadou for tinder but I am going to try your method with the Chaga - thanks from Nova Scotia!
Nice! I love that you are reusing it again and again -- it truly is amazing how much goodness comes out of just a little bit! Greetings back from Wisconsin -- we hope to visit Nova Scotia someday! We've been watching a program called "Hope For Wildlife" about a wildlife rehabilitator from Nova Scotia and have really been enjoying it =)
I like the "take only what you need" message. That is one of the biggest downfalls of the Modern Age of social media , word gets out about something and irresponsible people rush out to grab every bit they can get their hands on. Love the laid back , relaxed approach and the abundance of useful info. Great vid .
I have been using the forest and chaga for years but I certainly hadn't thought of this! There is truth to the saying that you don't ever stop learning. As for sustainable harvest of chaga, do not ever collect the entire fungus. It will grow back eventually. One of the first lessons I teach my children about it.
Great collecting advice! And I agree completely -- this life is so amazing when we are life-long learners. By the way, thanks so much for passing on these types of skills to your children -- a truly timeless and precious gift! =) Kenton
Sigh You can take all of the fruiting body and it will regrow. Its not just a growth on the outside of the tree, the part doing all the work is on the inside.
Super! I just did a all video on this. I really like that you mentioned to responsibly harvest it. I try so hard here in germany to find any. It's super rare here. I usually only take half the chaga on a tree so it will grow back. And it's like you said ,if the trees are getting cut down then I can save it before it's wasted to industrial logging. Thanks for sharing. You are now +1 new subscriber:)
Thanks for harvesting sustainably! I've been checking out your channel -- I love that you have such a broad skill-set! Thanks for keeping the old ways alive =) I'm subscribed to you, too! Thanks for your subscription =)
Chaga always finds me.! It's wonderful. I Grind it down in a old meat grinder almost to powder 1/2 tea spoon on a liter water is enough. You only take what you need and its not much, its a very powerful medicine. Have seen people that hurt the tree.. If harvest correctly it has the possibility to grow back!! Thank you Greetings from Sweden!.
@@johan.ohgren dom finns dar! Möjligt bättre kvalitet dom behöver kylan! Sami folk vet alt som han berättade om! Växer på björk när du ser 100 björkar kanske de växer på 1. Lycka till!
Thank you for sharing your perspective on chaga! I appreciate your message about practicing things different ways… not ideal ways. Very good reminder and great examples of thinking outside the box.
Thanks -- it's definitely a tricky balance, but hopefully people will come to choose responsible ways forward with this marvelous fungus =) I appreciate the comment! =) Kenton
excellent work! Im excited to begin practicing myself. I just found my first chaga the other day! im subscribed and can't wait to learn more, you are a good teacher.
That's a super exciting find! Kind of like finding treasure, isn't it? So glad to have you on the channel -- thanks so much for your subscription! I'm excited to get to know you more! With love, Kenton =)
@@ReWildUniversity Ha, I literally told my wife, "Theres Gold in them there trees". I've been mushroom hunting and foraging my whole life and am obsessed with bushcraft. I've been waiting to find a chaga since I learned about them this last winter! I can't believe I haven't known it was there before. Now I remember walking by do many of them!
This is awesome! I love that about nature -- there are always new things to learn, new treasures waiting there for us. So glad you found chaga, my friend!! =)
@@zdahlbeck3349 Hi my friend! So odd, I thought I already replied to this, but I'll try to remember what I said =) Gold indeed! I'm so glad you've found chaga at last! I feel like that's one of the things I love best about nature -- every time I go into the woods, I encounter new mysteries and discoveries!! =)
I like to use chaga first for tea, and use the second time for making fire. I crush chaga to prepare for making tea, but there are always bigger pieces - that's what I use later for fire making. Great tip about different densities of chaga - now I understood why I failed when my spindle just went too deep)) I'm glad I've found your channel, great and quite unique stuff!
Artem, I'm so glad to have you here! Looking forward to seeing your comments here more -- it's always fun to hear about someone's real-life experience, as you've shared here =)
@@ReWildUniversity Sure. I've actually been looking for ways to extract all the goodness (beta glucans, betulinic acid...) from chaga without the use of alcohol. I've come across fermentation and glycerin. While glycerin seems to work, I lean towards fermentation as I do towards everything natural. But I couldn't find any more information online on the fermentation method, apart from 2 studies on rats in Asia. Could you share anything you might know on this? Thanks a lot)
@@artjaazz1 Sadly I don't have knowledge in that area. We do double extractions with alcohol and water. One thought with the alcohol, if you're just trying to avoid ingesting it, is that I think you can let your tincture sit open to the air for a few hours to let the majority of the alcohol evaporate off. I haven't tried, it, so I don't know if it would degrade the tincture or not. Btw, if you do learn more about fermentation, I'd love to know!!
WOW WOW WOW great video man , I don’t understand I’ve been on RUclips Bushcraft seen for 9 years now and this is the first video I’ve seen of yours instant sub thanx for sharing your knowledge it’s truly a gift
This was beautiful!!! Your voice is so calming and lovely. And you speak with such elegance!! Truly spoke to my soul. I think I have a lot of Chaga where I live but never realized what it was! I can't wait to get back to my beautiful mountain and find out!!
Glad this video popped up on my feed. Looks like am amazing technique that i plan on working with and adding to my toolbox. I resubscribed, as somehow my subscription had been dropped. I always learn something useful from your videos.
Stan, thanks for resubscribing. I don't know exactly how things work on YT, but it's become obvious over the years that my channel isn't promoted very much. Makes me grateful for everyone who takes the time to subscribe and especially to comment. I hope this technique adds a great tool to your box! =)
So cool to see this demonstrated. I just bought a book “The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies” by Nicole Apelian and Claud Davis. It tells you everything you need to know about Chaga in the mushrooms section. How to use it as medicine, fire starter, how to harvest it. But to see how quickly it works as a fire starter is amazing. We have a ton of Chaga on my ranch. I want to make a double tincture for our close friends. The mother and son both have cancer. It’s awful. There are instructions in my book but you should do a video on the medicinal aspect of Chaga!
So glad you're getting chaga to those friends of yours. Making a double extraction of chaga would be a great video -- not sure why we hadn't thought of it! Thanks my friend!
That was awesome to me as a couch adventurer I have never had to build a fire in the woods even when I was hunting , my energecy was a soup can and a bic lighter . I have never been that far into wilderness that I needed to learn anything. I gues I am just a hillbilly city slicker. Rock on man.
Michael, we're so glad to have you here, and excited to get to know you more. Welcome, and we hope you find value in our other videos! =) Kenton and Family
Nice video! I'm using it all for dual extraction, I didn't know it could be used as a fire starter. I'd prefer using hoof fungus' amadou for this though since it's mor frequent than chaga
The old ways? In nature first of all ofc. not one person would look at a tree and think "food" neither do you ofcourse when you walk in the forest. They woudlnt have the tools either to prepare it. These are the EXTREMELY modern ways. Has nothing to do with nature or our ancestors.
Really cool video and great fire-making skills! Went out this morning to check on a clump about a mile into the woods that I plan to harvest when the weather gets colder. I was surprised that hunters hadn't picked it off since it's right at chest level.......
I think most people, even many outdoors-types, often don't know about chaga (or many other edible/medicinal mushrooms and plants). Glad you do! A marvelous fungus =)
Godmorgen ❤ Klokken er 6.00 og jeg vågnede med den sædvanlige smerte i min lænd og lidt dårlig humør. Tændte for youtube og det første der dukkede op var dig, med et stort smil og en utrolig karisma. Det fik mig i meget bedre humør... tak for det😊😊 Jeg glæder mig til at se meget mere til dig og din YT kanal❤ Jeg håber du får en fantastisk dag. Mange hilsner fra Lillian (Danmark, Skandinavien)😊😊
Lillian, I'm so glad I could help out a little! Welcome to our channel (and thank you for your subscription!) It's always so fun to know where someone is from, as well. Greetings back from Wisconsin, USA!!! =)
Tommy, thank you -- I appreciate our shared appreciation and gratitude for the gifts of nature. And I really appreciate your subscription! Glad to have you here!! =)
Fascinating and informative. I've never seen it, never used it. No birches in California, so no amadou either. Chris cloth rules here, but I bought some processed amadou from Romania.
@@ReWildUniversity Yes, it is soaked in alum after being carved away from the top hard layer and the soft porous layer. After soaking, it is pounded out with a hammer into a sort of felt. It works almost as effectively as char-cloth for catching and holding a spark, except it is "cooler", and cleaner. Considering relocating to New England, so may have the opportunity to try to make it at some point. Rewilding forever!
I originally started using this because of severe stomach problems. After six months the stomach problems were gone. It also controls my hypertension. I've already researched all that I can about chaga.
Thanks for the info, another vid I watched said, to scrape off the black outside as it was of no use and very bitter. I have a couple of birch trees on my property with similar size lumps of chaga growing on them to the tree in your vid. I only take enough for a months use at a time alternating between the 2 trees. I get tired of scraping the hard black outer skin off as suggested by the other video, so now I will just grind it all up for tea, and I will keep a lump for fire making as well, cheers 😊
Let me know how you like that tea! It definitely has a stronger flavor, but hey, coffee is "bitter" too, and many people love it. If the dark chaga seems too strong, a bit of honey and cream can make it delicious =)
Pakuri! I'm sure I'm pronouncing it incorrectly (we had a Swedish forest monk out here two years ago and I learned that most of my Swedish pronunciation was horrible, so I can only imagine my Finnish is just as bad!! =) Kenton
kuusiokulma Tervehdys, keetos for teaching us the Finnish name for Chaga. My wife is Australian born to Finnish parents so now I know what to ask for when I want to talk about this fungi. I would love to get hold of some but it’s too hot in my area of Australia for birch to grow but I could probably get relations to send some from Finland.
Thank you for making this very informative video. I drink chaga quite a lot and by accident discovered that it smells delicious as an incense. I had heard that it made a great fire starter. I have seen many chaga videos but have never seen one where the chaga is broken down into parts for best usage. I will be sharing this for sure. 😊
With the chaga the spindle type can be pretty forgiving, though a really hard wood will tend to drill down through the chaga more quickly. However, if available, a "pithy center" spindle, like goldenrod stem, mullein, or Jerusalem Artichoke are optimal.
Very good to know since mostly I harvest for myself as a drink. The first piece I found was just on the ground from a former logging operation so I had little work to do on that piece!!
I'm just recently familiar with the Chaga Mushroom. I learned that it's an immune booster, and its inert ingredients can have a soothing effect on the nervous system reducing stress; which is pretty cool in itself right? It's also nutrient dense , has all B-complex vitamins, (B12 included,) and amino acids. (B vitamins, and proteins work together. ) It's also rich in copper, manganese, magnesium, and other important minerals ; as well has having a substantial amount of vitamin D in that , haha, charcoal colored mess too. Cool man, good stuff.
An amazing mushroom! So glad you're acquainted -- we're just making a double-extraction right now to harness many of those wonderful substances you're speaking of!
I always just take it from trees that I know are about to die so I dont risk prematurely killing the tree. Ideally I get it from the trees that I am cutting down anyways for firewood. Lots and lots of it around just on my property alone. I am going to try this fire starting technique this weekend and see if I cant get the wood stove rolling. Thank you for the knowledge!
@@ReWildUniversity Thank you! Just found some nice fresh chaga in the snowy CT woods and can't wait to try the fire starting. Does the same method work with horses hoof? . I am a big fan of all wild mushrooms and woodcraft and am happy to have found your channel. Keep up the good work! Only about two months to the start of morel season... :-)
David, we are SO excited for morels! Let me know how the chaga fire starting goes! I've tried it multiple times with horse hoof fungus, but have never been able to get it work. It SEEMS like it should, yet I can only get smoke and dust. If you try it yourself, please let me know your results! =)
Wow! Excellent video! I have seen these chaga videos years ago, except when you used that tree from what I think, to get grip from the tree sap, that was amazing! I remember seeing sap bumps on those trees, they look like pimples. I really didn't know that would be an efficient method for survival type sinareos! That makes that look less survival and more safe and inviting to try instead of a difficult method! Really I came to view the chaga, and got to see what might be a good fire starting technique! Brilliant! And then if that works, have a nice tea after making a fire to relax!
Just found you. Most intriguing ideas! Was out hiking in the snow 2 weeks ago and found Chaga on a beech tree! For real! In all my mindful chaga harvesting experience I have never seen or heard of that before. There were many neighboring birch trees around that I inspected first which did not show signs of fruiting. Thoughts? Much thanks. Stay peaceful. :)
Tina, so glad to have you here! On a beech tree! Fascinating! I haven't heard of that before, but then again, I have always found that nature loves to "bend the rules". I've found chaga on "Ironwood" (Ostrya virginiana), and found a great harvest of oysters once on balsam fir. Both unusual, but not impossible. What a cool find you had!! =) Kenton
@@ReWildUniversity Thanks Kenton, for your reply. Just watched your one day naked in winter video. Yaowza! Lol. Hats off to ya! That is a huge test of will and skills. Back to my initial comment to you, on reflection the birch trees that were near the chaga bearing beech tree did show signs of several birch polypore mushrooms too old to harvest. Perhaps Chaga flourished there in the past and since the BP moved into the area, chaga's will to survive in a birch polypore dominated region chose to 'make do' with the beech? Regarding the Oysters on ironwood, my that IS ambitious!
I just heard of chaga a few weeks ago, I'm yet to learn how to use it for tea, medicinal. Thanks for teaching me how to use it for fire! Awesome, Kenton! Have a beautiful day! HUGS to you all!
@@ReWildUniversity Mirabelle really has something to say, I truely enjoy her video's. She is teaching me some! As are you! Thank you for your comment, it means very much to me! Much love! :D xxx
Kenton, I forgot to tell you, if you use CCleaner, they keep asking you to download the newest version. If you do that, they will kill you with popups to go and buy their program. So if you did, you best delete the whole thing, and download it new from the internet. Then remove cookies and all with it. The one I downloaded is the one I use, I refuse the new versions. Learned the hard way..lol All I have to do now if I used it, is log in to some of the pages I am on, like RUclips, but the computer remembers the passwords, if you allowed it to do that. Have a beautiful day! Much love! xxx
We have bright orange & golden yellow Chaga on the Central coast of California.. as it ripens & hardens, it sometimes turns bright red & gets pretty big!
Definitely no notch. It's a little trickier to tell when you have an ember since you can't see it, but if you watch for that same thick, curling smoke you see when you're doing it wood-on-wood, you should be able to lift the spindle out, blow in the hole a little, and see an orange glow. Let me know if you try it!! =) Kenton
Hi Dale! You're looking for birches -- it grows on paper birch, but seems to prefer the longer-lived apex species called "yellow birch" or "golden birch". =)
I used a flint and Viking fire steel to spark onto a piece of Chaga and it worked first try. It was brilliant. I then used the ember to start a BBQ fire. Guess what? Chaga holds an ember so well, I couldn't put the bloody thing out! It was hilarious! In the end I had to pour a little water on it to put it out. Thank you for the great video. By the way. Whenever I am out foraging for mushrooms etc etc I always always say Thank you to the Lord, or whomever he sent down to guide me. I always think that there is someone pointing me in the right direction. I guess they look down and say to themselves "Look that poor idiot needs a bit of help!" and suddenly, I find what I am looking for. It might be a lovely Cep, or a Birch Polypore, or some fantastic Fatwood. I call the forest God's Supermarket.
I love it! Especially your humorous take on God's mental meanderings! We can all use a bit more of that kind of humor. And yes, when you listen with something deeper than hearing, we truly can be led just the right direction in the woods =)
@@ReWildUniversity Hello. I am glad you enjoyed my comment but I was only half joking about Divine Intervention. Wether you are in a large wood, a huge forest or out in a remote area, it is always amazing to me that I manage to spot things that I am looking for. You are turning left and right, looking around at your feet or a few feet in front, looking at the base of trees or up high and then suddenly there is that magnificent Bolet, or Chicken of the Woods, or a dead standing pine full of Fatwood. It might be a Hare or a Rabbit, or the swirl of a Salmon or Trout in the river, whatever it is you are hunting, What are the chances of you looking in the right direction at precisely the right moment? I am a Christian who does not go to church because of what it has become today. My relationships with God and Jesus are Direct. Having said that, I also believe in the spirits, both good and bad, of those who have gone to the other side. The dead and also the ancient spirits who are the guardians of the forest. I respect them all, even though I know that ultimately, Jesus reigns supreme over them, over us all. I have been hunting, fishing, and practicing bushcraft in the wilderness for decades. Russia, British Columbia, the Rockies, and around Europe. I can be fly fishing a stream, or wandering in a forest and I have the very distinct impression that I am not alone, that I am being watched. I always say Hello, and I always ask for permission to fish or hunt or forage. I am, after all, trespassing on their territory. If I want to cut a walking stick from a Holly tree or Blackthorn, I ask permission first. I have often felt really quite uncomfortable but never really threatened. Respect is the key. The other side, the other realms of existence are, to me, very real indeed. I have been in houses where I have truly felt menaced and had to leave. That was before I understood that all I need to do is say the Lord’s Prayer, or Psalm 23 and invoke the protection of Jesus. The bad spirits are very powerful, they aim to terrify you. They feed on your fear, but Jesus stops them in their tracks. So yes, I often feel that I am being guided, and thank goodness for that because if it was left to me on my own, I’d be right in the shit most of the time :-) I really enjoyed watching you thank the Turkey Tail for providing its goodness to you. That is what I do. I find a beautiful fresh Cep, put it in my basket and then turn to look up to the sky and say “Thank you very much!” I know I could not have succeeded on my own. Sometimes you are very tired, cold and hungry and all you want is a fire and a hot brew. Sometimes you struggle for ages to get that ember and start your fire. Then suddenly your tinder bundle bursts into bright flams. That Pine tea is now only minutes away. “Thank you Lord!” It is no more complicated or difficult than that! What a shame the world has now become a hate filled shit show dominated by insane individuals like Antifa. I wish they knew what I know. I pray for them to Wake Up before it’s too late! The Wolves are at the door! I am ready to fight, as my Father and Grandfathers fought, in two world wars, for Freedom and Democracy, for the futures of our children and grandchildren. I am ready to fight for Western Christian Civilization against the unspeakable evil of Communism. I will not hide away in my perfect wilderness. When the moment arrives, I will be at the front knowing that Right and Jesus are by my side! The truth is always with us. Keep safe and God Speed!
I enjoy your videos and the wisdom you share. I,m looking for an older video of yours about knowing when your body is really hungry and not giving in to false hunger.
Okay wow 👍🏻 That was cool. Yes I thought it was going to be crap but when you lit the ember with a freaking stick I was impressed for sure ❤️🔥 Yeah very cool video 😎 🍄 Thanks 🙏🏻
I'm going to have to start looking for chaga when I go out to salvage sites (does it live here in western WA?...). I volunteer with a local non-profit that salvages native plants from sites that are going to get developed. I never thought to try to salvage fungi from those sites too... thanks for sharing! Another great video :)
Daron, every day I'm grateful for the work you're doing. Now that I'm subscribed to your newsletter, it's so fun to get to learn more about your work. Just thinking of those plants you are salvaging is so encouraging! Love to your whole family! Kenton =)
Chaga lives on birch trees mainly so if you have any in rhat area, there's a huge possibility that you can find chaga. Just look around and many of them are usually high on the trees. Unfortunately you cannot take those. I found a ton that were super high on the trees. It's very good and you can replace coffee with chaga, honestly.
Great that you found some chaga! For a spindle, you'll probably have best luck with a pith-centered dry stalk. You can harvest them now, during the winter, and will have the best luck with Jerusalem Artichoke, Mullein, Horseweed, or some of the straight, thicker goldenrods. Let me know if you get fire! And remember that the chaga will stay lit unless you get some water in there to put it out -- it is very good at holding on to its ember =)
Depending on where you are in Canada, you should have some of these near you. I'll give some links! plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=SOLID plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=HETU plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=VERBA plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=COCAC3 =) Kenton
I sell it on ebay as do hundreds of other people. We have tons of chaga where I live. I've only seen evidence of one other harvest and I 've found hundreds. Don't fret. I harvest sustainably. Sawing them off whenever possible and only harvesting 1 in 20 that I find. Ours are mostly on yellow birch and the chaga is sometimes 35 - 40 feet up. I don't bother with them. Ebay handle is tl501960
What a wonderful, teaching experience! This is the first video that I watched on your channel .. I'm now subscribed! 🙂 I can't wait to responsibly harvest some chaga! Question; for tea, do I grind a small piece in a coffee grinder? 🌱peace
Dee, thanks so much for your kind comment and subscription! So glad to have you on the channel! A coffee grinder works great -- basically, the finer the grind, the more surface area is available for the water to extract things. Of course, if it's too fine it can be tough to filter the grounds out of your tea, or they can get out through your tea filter/bag, but there is no harm in drinking some of them =)
Hi! That is Canada horseweed, but three others that work great are Jerusalem Artichoke, mullein, or a thicker goldenrod. You have to find dead, dried stalks -- look in the winter or spring. A solid wood stick, though possible to use, is VERY difficult for beginners, so I'd start with one of those four mentioned! =)
@@militaryandemergencyservic3286 Do give it a try. My firemaking "guru" (check out Boggy Creek Beast) can do a hand drill with solid wood. I can't. I did once get it by doing it cooperatively with a friend, but if you have enough strength and technique, it's certainly possible you could do it on your own like BCB!! =)
Found a piece of chagha 2days ago. One video shows how to rasps the rough outer part off as kindling!? Cant wait to try this idea, makes more sense. What do I do with the weavles though? I washed it outside cuz I found it on the forest floor...a few holes in the sawn off surface.....probably fell of my predecessors bug out equipment?
I don't usually encounter too many bugs in the chaga, but if you sliced it relatively thin, you should be able to hand-pick or put it out in the sun for a few days to drive them out.
I am so very happy to have found you! I love your approach, personality and willingness to share your knowledge! Thank you! I have a question as I was researching chaga, I am wondering if what I have found is truly a chaga. I live in south east Wisconsin and found a large mass of what looks like chaga but it is growing on a dead cherry tree. Is this possible? I would like to harvest some of it but want to be sure first. Thank you for your beautiful, informative video; I am a subscriber now :)
Hi! Welcome to the channel! I'm pretty sure that isn't chaga, sadly. It is probably black knot fungus -- www.google.com/search?q=cherry+tree+disease&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALeKk02LMfeQQN1AIk5lip_KQsQxnNebWQ:1594846242044&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiOqumdkdDqAhUEG80KHXZMCpMQ_AUoAXoECA4QAw&biw=1536&bih=750#imgrc=4AaueTs4bTYZcM However, if you want to send me a photo I can tell you for sure. You can find my email address at rewildu.com. Thank you for your subscription, by the way! Chaga is amazing, and I hope you find some soon! =)
@@ReWildUniversity 😁✊BIG THANKS for the support that's really awesome to hear. Im a perfectionist lol so end result is always difficult and scary lolol
I'm hoping to teach them as much as I can we were looking for chaga for two days no luck but we scored big on fiddle heads today.. cheers friend thanks again made me smile 🤙
I was looking for chaga benefits and found this video and still love the contents. That’s a really expensive fire starter as Chaga is super expensive in the city . Still it’s super cool to know you can start a fire using chaga.
@@ReWildUniversity I live in a city in Los Angeles county, Southern California. So my climate zone is pretty far from anywhere chaga can grow. I just order small amount online once in awhile, I make tea until the water is almost colorless, maybe after 30th simmering . 🙏
From where did you get your winter coat (the winter brown clothing with the hood), how is it called? Very beautiful, It reminds me the traditional Kabyle burnous that we wear in the winter.
This is a very simple cloak that my wife made, basically by wrapping a blanket and sewing on a hood. I will research the Kabyle Burnous that you reference! Sounds very interesting!! =)
I just found what I hope is chaga on birch trees in New Hampshire but it is grey on the top and side, not the black I have seen here on youtube. Is this then not chaga?
Hello and thanks for the great video. I live in Northern Mi. My neighbor has a decent size birch tree with a nice amount of Chaga on it. Its on the edge of the swampy area behind her house. She has no problem with me harvesting it. But I am hesitant because its her septic field is about 10 yards up hill from it. What do you think? Would it still be safe to use for tea? Thank you and Have a Great Day
You're a neighbor! I was just singing a song to my girls about one of my favorite haunts up near Indianhead Mountain. And the Porcupines might be my all-time favorite place for adventuring. As for your chaga, I know many might disagree with me, but because the septic field is essentially turning her waste into fertilizer, I wouldn't have any fear about harvesting that chaga. I'd be able to make a better recommendation if I could see the situation in person, but all in all, there's still probably a good deal of soil between the tree and the septic, and every inch of travel through the soil breaks things down and makes them into usable nutrients.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Great job - I just finished a cup of Chaga tea. As the water gets down in the pot I will add a bit more - simmer on the wood stove. It is amazing how many cups of dark tea you can get from a small handful of pieces. When I eventually have leftovers I will put them in a bucket with bits and pieces I get from processing and make a tea water for my wife for the garden. I have been using Amadou for tinder but I am going to try your method with the Chaga - thanks from Nova Scotia!
Nice! I love that you are reusing it again and again -- it truly is amazing how much goodness comes out of just a little bit! Greetings back from Wisconsin -- we hope to visit Nova Scotia someday! We've been watching a program called "Hope For Wildlife" about a wildlife rehabilitator from Nova Scotia and have really been enjoying it =)
I like the "take only what you need" message. That is one of the biggest downfalls of the Modern Age of social media , word gets out about something and irresponsible people rush out to grab every bit they can get their hands on. Love the laid back , relaxed approach and the abundance of useful info. Great vid .
Thanks -- you're right, there are a lot of people out there, and if we don't take some care in harvesting, there won't be any left for anybody =)
Regular people give up looking . Not like looking for something at corner store
i can’t understand how you don’t have a million subs. i come for the content and stay for the energy. one of a kind my friend
Thanks for those words my friend. They made my day =)
It takes time to grow, he just got +1 sub from me.
Agreed and I second what she said. ❤️
Talks too Much like just stick to the topic from 3 types to fire etc like we can’t figure how to hold too long videos for thee days
I have been using the forest and chaga for years but I certainly hadn't thought of this! There is truth to the saying that you don't ever stop learning. As for sustainable harvest of chaga, do not ever collect the entire fungus. It will grow back eventually.
One of the first lessons I teach my children about it.
Great collecting advice! And I agree completely -- this life is so amazing when we are life-long learners. By the way, thanks so much for passing on these types of skills to your children -- a truly timeless and precious gift!
=) Kenton
Sigh
You can take all of the fruiting body and it will regrow. Its not just a growth on the outside of the tree, the part doing all the work is on the inside.
Hello from Norway 🌼 love this video 🌻 I'm 42 now.. Have to teach this to my sisters kids... What an amazing skill to have! 🙏
So glad you like this! And I LOVE that you are sharing these skills with kids!! =)
Was lookibg fir chaga and finally i found it in my own garden. Drank some chaga tea and it has a good taste, so not the last time I have it.
Super! I just did a all video on this. I really like that you mentioned to responsibly harvest it. I try so hard here in germany to find any. It's super rare here. I usually only take half the chaga on a tree so it will grow back. And it's like you said ,if the trees are getting cut down then I can save it before it's wasted to industrial logging. Thanks for sharing. You are now +1 new subscriber:)
Thanks for harvesting sustainably! I've been checking out your channel -- I love that you have such a broad skill-set! Thanks for keeping the old ways alive =) I'm subscribed to you, too! Thanks for your subscription =)
Chaga always finds me.! It's wonderful.
I Grind it down in a old meat grinder almost to powder 1/2 tea spoon on a liter water is enough.
You only take what you need and its not much, its a very powerful medicine. Have seen people that hurt the tree.. If harvest correctly it has the possibility to grow back!! Thank you Greetings from Sweden!.
Indeed - you don't need much! Thanks for sustainably harvesting!
=) Kenton
Vet du vad den heter på svenska??
@@johan.ohgren sprängticka när jag skriver rätt. Hälsning från Södermanland.
@@dteun ok, tackar. Tror inte att jag någonsin sett den i Västernorrland eller norrut.
@@johan.ohgren dom finns dar! Möjligt bättre kvalitet dom behöver kylan! Sami folk vet alt som han berättade om! Växer på björk när du ser 100 björkar kanske de växer på 1. Lycka till!
One of the best video on the subject. A very decent and good man. Best voice.
Never knew about this feature of chaga!👍thank u sir for sharing
WOW, WOW, FANTASTIC FILM. THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU. REGARDS FROM CANADA.
Thank you Andrew!! Blessings and love to you from Wisconsin, USA!! =)
Thank you for sharing your perspective on chaga! I appreciate your message about practicing things different ways… not ideal ways. Very good reminder and great examples of thinking outside the box.
Thanks -- it's definitely a tricky balance, but hopefully people will come to choose responsible ways forward with this marvelous fungus =) I appreciate the comment!
=) Kenton
excellent work! Im excited to begin practicing myself. I just found my first chaga the other day! im subscribed and can't wait to learn more, you are a good teacher.
That's a super exciting find! Kind of like finding treasure, isn't it? So glad to have you on the channel -- thanks so much for your subscription! I'm excited to get to know you more!
With love,
Kenton =)
@@ReWildUniversity Ha, I literally told my wife, "Theres Gold in them there trees".
I've been mushroom hunting and foraging my whole life and am obsessed with bushcraft. I've been waiting to find a chaga since I learned about them this last winter! I can't believe I haven't known it was there before. Now I remember walking by do many of them!
This is awesome! I love that about nature -- there are always new things to learn, new treasures waiting there for us. So glad you found chaga, my friend!! =)
@@zdahlbeck3349 Hi my friend! So odd, I thought I already replied to this, but I'll try to remember what I said =) Gold indeed! I'm so glad you've found chaga at last! I feel like that's one of the things I love best about nature -- every time I go into the woods, I encounter new mysteries and discoveries!! =)
You got a great attitude thanks bro
I like to use chaga first for tea, and use the second time for making fire. I crush chaga to prepare for making tea, but there are always bigger pieces - that's what I use later for fire making.
Great tip about different densities of chaga - now I understood why I failed when my spindle just went too deep)) I'm glad I've found your channel, great and quite unique stuff!
Artem, I'm so glad to have you here! Looking forward to seeing your comments here more -- it's always fun to hear about someone's real-life experience, as you've shared here =)
@@ReWildUniversity Sure. I've actually been looking for ways to extract all the goodness (beta glucans, betulinic acid...) from chaga without the use of alcohol. I've come across fermentation and glycerin. While glycerin seems to work, I lean towards fermentation as I do towards everything natural. But I couldn't find any more information online on the fermentation method, apart from 2 studies on rats in Asia. Could you share anything you might know on this? Thanks a lot)
@@artjaazz1 Sadly I don't have knowledge in that area. We do double extractions with alcohol and water. One thought with the alcohol, if you're just trying to avoid ingesting it, is that I think you can let your tincture sit open to the air for a few hours to let the majority of the alcohol evaporate off. I haven't tried, it, so I don't know if it would degrade the tincture or not. Btw, if you do learn more about fermentation, I'd love to know!!
WOW WOW WOW great video man , I don’t understand I’ve been on RUclips Bushcraft seen for 9 years now and this is the first video I’ve seen of yours instant sub thanx for sharing your knowledge it’s truly a gift
Wow, so glad to have you here Joey! My videos span a wide range, not all bushcrafty, but I hope you enjoy them regardless!!
With love,
Kenton =)
You are a beautiful gentle soul. So calming to watch...
Wow, thank you for your kind and loving words! They are appreciated =)
In gratitude,
Kenton
This was beautiful!!! Your voice is so calming and lovely. And you speak with such elegance!! Truly spoke to my soul.
I think I have a lot of Chaga where I live but never realized what it was! I can't wait to get back to my beautiful mountain and find out!!
What a waste of Chaga use. That Chaga could have been used to make tea for someone with ulcerative colitis 🤨
A wonderful fungus with so many uses! I hope you enjoy your relationship with it Ashli!
Glad this video popped up on my feed. Looks like am amazing technique that i plan on working with and adding to my toolbox. I resubscribed, as somehow my subscription had been dropped. I always learn something useful from your videos.
Stan, thanks for resubscribing. I don't know exactly how things work on YT, but it's become obvious over the years that my channel isn't promoted very much. Makes me grateful for everyone who takes the time to subscribe and especially to comment. I hope this technique adds a great tool to your box! =)
So cool to see this demonstrated. I just bought a book “The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies” by Nicole Apelian and Claud Davis. It tells you everything you need to know about Chaga in the mushrooms section. How to use it as medicine, fire starter, how to harvest it. But to see how quickly it works as a fire starter is amazing. We have a ton of Chaga on my ranch. I want to make a double tincture for our close friends. The mother and son both have cancer. It’s awful. There are instructions in my book but you should do a video on the medicinal aspect of Chaga!
So glad you're getting chaga to those friends of yours. Making a double extraction of chaga would be a great video -- not sure why we hadn't thought of it! Thanks my friend!
Awsome information, really thank you!
Thank you for sharing wonderful human being. Your insight is most useful. Your lessons may safe my life one day. Love and Light. cheers
Thanks, my friend. Love and light to you as well!! =)
That was awesome to me as a couch adventurer I have never had to build a fire in the woods even when I was hunting , my energecy was a soup can and a bic lighter . I have never been that far into wilderness that I needed to learn anything. I gues I am just a hillbilly city slicker. Rock on man.
Thank Joseph! A bic lighter is a great tool in itself -- probably smarter than relying on chaga and such as I do, lol!! =)
I’m glad to have found your channel just now. I’m looking forward to learning more from you. Thank you.
Michael, we're so glad to have you here, and excited to get to know you more. Welcome, and we hope you find value in our other videos!
=) Kenton and Family
Nice video! I'm using it all for dual extraction, I didn't know it could be used as a fire starter. I'd prefer using hoof fungus' amadou for this though since it's mor frequent than chaga
Very interesting..I really like your thinking...great job
Thanks JG!!
@@ReWildUniversity thank you my mushroom friend..appreciate all advice and intellect..
I’m Finnish and love chaga tea! I have taught all my children the magic of chaga!
Such wonderful stuff! So glad your children are learning it! =)
Great demonstration. Thanks for showing us. Take care.
Appreciated! =)
I found some today!
I was so happy and my little sister was just so done and wanted to go home😂
Awesome! And yes, I can understand -- sometimes the little ones are less enthused than we are about such discoveries =)
I enjoyed your 3 uses for chaga. What a great idea to use chaga for hand drill/fire making. I’ll have to give it a try once I finally find some chaga!
Hopefully we can find some up here for you when you visit!!!
=) Kenton
Yes! That would be so awesome =D
I enjoyed your presentation.
Thanks Fred! Glad to have you visit the channel! I hope you decide to subscribe and bell and check out more of our videos! =)
Amazing to see the old ways
So glad you like it, Krystal! And hey, fishing itself is a connection with those old ways! =) Nice catch!
The old ways? In nature first of all ofc. not one person would look at a tree and think "food" neither do you ofcourse when you walk in the forest. They woudlnt have the tools either to prepare it. These are the EXTREMELY modern ways. Has nothing to do with nature or our ancestors.
Amazing share of knowledge!. Wonderful. Mulen can make a great spindle
Oh yes -- one of my favorites. Mullein is an amazing plant in so many ways =)
Really cool video and great fire-making skills! Went out this morning to check on a clump about a mile into the woods that I plan to harvest when the weather gets colder. I was surprised that hunters hadn't picked it off since it's right at chest level.......
I think most people, even many outdoors-types, often don't know about chaga (or many other edible/medicinal mushrooms and plants). Glad you do! A marvelous fungus =)
Godmorgen ❤ Klokken er 6.00 og jeg vågnede med den sædvanlige smerte i min lænd og lidt dårlig humør. Tændte for youtube og det første der dukkede op var dig, med et stort smil og en utrolig karisma. Det fik mig i meget bedre humør... tak for det😊😊 Jeg glæder mig til at se meget mere til dig og din YT kanal❤ Jeg håber du får en fantastisk dag. Mange hilsner fra Lillian (Danmark, Skandinavien)😊😊
Lillian, I'm so glad I could help out a little! Welcome to our channel (and thank you for your subscription!) It's always so fun to know where someone is from, as well. Greetings back from Wisconsin, USA!!! =)
I just learned a valuable lesson today….
Mind officially BLOWN !! Thankyou !!!!
So glad you liked it, Silas!!!! =)
Thank you for thanking the chaga... it made the difference in my choice to subscribe. GREAT video good sir.
Tommy, thank you -- I appreciate our shared appreciation and gratitude for the gifts of nature. And I really appreciate your subscription! Glad to have you here!! =)
Fascinating and informative. I've never seen it, never used it. No birches in California, so no amadou either. Chris cloth rules here, but I bought some processed amadou from Romania.
I haven't used processed amadou -- sounds like amazing stuff!
@@ReWildUniversity Yes, it is soaked in alum after being carved away from the top hard layer and the soft porous layer. After soaking, it is pounded out with a hammer into a sort of felt. It works almost as effectively as char-cloth for catching and holding a spark, except it is "cooler", and cleaner. Considering relocating to New England, so may have the opportunity to try to make it at some point.
Rewilding forever!
@@Tipi_Dan I have to try this! Sounds awesome!!
I've been making my own chaga tincher for a year now. It's saving me hundreds of dollars!
Nice, David! Great for your health!!
I originally started using this because of severe stomach problems. After six months the stomach problems were gone. It also controls my hypertension. I've already researched all that I can about chaga.
@@davidgodley521 Thanks for sharing this -- good info for others looking for alternative ways toward better health =)
Outstanding video!
Thank You.
Thanks Bob! So glad you found it useful!! =)
I knew chaga could hold ember but I did not know you could drill into it! What great knowledge!
A great "trick" with the chaga! Awesome fungus =)
Thanks for the info, another vid I watched said, to scrape off the black outside as it was of no use and very bitter. I have a couple of birch trees on my property with similar size lumps of chaga growing on them to the tree in your vid. I only take enough for a months use at a time alternating between the 2 trees. I get tired of scraping the hard black outer skin off as suggested by the other video, so now I will just grind it all up for tea, and I will keep a lump for fire making as well, cheers 😊
Let me know how you like that tea! It definitely has a stronger flavor, but hey, coffee is "bitter" too, and many people love it. If the dark chaga seems too strong, a bit of honey and cream can make it delicious =)
Excellent video. I liked and subscribed! Thank you!
Thanks Michael! I'm thankful to have your subscription, and hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel!
=) Kenton
Thank you for video! Greetings from Finland! On our language Chaga is called Pakuri, I drink it few times
a week instead of coffee.
Pakuri! I'm sure I'm pronouncing it incorrectly (we had a Swedish forest monk out here two years ago and I learned that most of my Swedish pronunciation was horrible, so I can only imagine my Finnish is just as bad!! =) Kenton
kuusiokulma Tervehdys, keetos for teaching us the Finnish name for Chaga. My wife is Australian born to Finnish parents so now I know what to ask for when I want to talk about this fungi. I would love to get hold of some but it’s too hot in my area of Australia for birch to grow but I could probably get relations to send some from Finland.
Thank you for a very informative video I enjoyed it very much.
So glad you liked it, Charles! Amazing fungus!
Thank you for making this very informative video. I drink chaga quite a lot and by accident discovered that it smells delicious as an incense. I had heard that it made a great fire starter. I have seen many chaga videos but have never seen one where the chaga is broken down into parts for best usage. I will be sharing this for sure. 😊
Salina, I love its smell! When you do the hand drill with it, you get that wonderful incense smell the whole time. Lovely!!
@@ReWildUniversity I imagine it would...thank you. 😊
canada horse what? for the stock? why can't you just use a branch from the same birch tree? would it work? many thhnx!
great review Sir did not know about the 3 different grades of Chaga but i know NOW thanks to you...well done i have just subscribed
Joe, thanks so much for your subscription! I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel! =)
Came for the tea, subscribed when you built a fire in the snow, half way up a tree.
Wow, thanks for the subscription! I hope you enjoy the other videos =)
Thank you. What a great video. Your “spindle”…can you use any type of wood or are some kinds better than others?
With the chaga the spindle type can be pretty forgiving, though a really hard wood will tend to drill down through the chaga more quickly. However, if available, a "pithy center" spindle, like goldenrod stem, mullein, or Jerusalem Artichoke are optimal.
Thank you my husband harvests his own for coffee substitute but I never knew what a great survival tool it was.
So glad it's a part of your life! Such a delicious tea. I hope you enjoy trying its other uses! =)
Thanks for the great information about chaga. I learned something new today about chaga.
So glad my friend!!
I will remember to harvest chaga in the least damaging way,and use it for making fire the way you taught us!
😊 thank you
Thank you my friend! May it serve you well!!! =)
Why not use polypores instead?or better yet, just use a lighter instead of using this precious material?
Very good to know since mostly I harvest for myself as a drink. The first piece I found was just on the ground from a former logging operation so I had little work to do on that piece!!
Way to go! That is what I call sustainable harvesting indeed!!!
Subbed! Best Chaga video I have seen. Thank you!
Wow, THANK YOU! And I very much appreciate your subscription!!
Love,
Kenton =)
I'm just recently familiar with the Chaga Mushroom. I learned that it's an immune booster, and its inert ingredients can have a soothing effect on the nervous system reducing stress; which is pretty cool in itself right? It's also nutrient dense , has all B-complex vitamins, (B12 included,) and amino acids. (B vitamins, and proteins work together. ) It's also rich in copper, manganese, magnesium, and other important minerals ; as well has having a substantial amount of vitamin D in that , haha, charcoal colored mess too. Cool man, good stuff.
An amazing mushroom! So glad you're acquainted -- we're just making a double-extraction right now to harness many of those wonderful substances you're speaking of!
💚 thank you for sharing your wisdom
Absolutely, Friend!! =)
I always just take it from trees that I know are about to die so I dont risk prematurely killing the tree. Ideally I get it from the trees that I am cutting down anyways for firewood. Lots and lots of it around just on my property alone. I am going to try this fire starting technique this weekend and see if I cant get the wood stove rolling. Thank you for the knowledge!
So great to hear you're abundant in chaga! And I'd LOVE to hear if you get that fire with it! Please update me! =)
Excellent! Sharing with all my friends.
Wow, I'm honored, David! So glad you found this valuable!
@@ReWildUniversity Thank you! Just found some nice fresh chaga in the snowy CT woods and can't wait to try the fire starting. Does the same method work with horses hoof? . I am a big fan of all wild mushrooms and woodcraft and am happy to have found your channel. Keep up the good work! Only about two months to the start of morel season... :-)
David, we are SO excited for morels! Let me know how the chaga fire starting goes! I've tried it multiple times with horse hoof fungus, but have never been able to get it work. It SEEMS like it should, yet I can only get smoke and dust. If you try it yourself, please let me know your results! =)
Wow! Excellent video! I have seen these chaga videos years ago, except when you used that tree from what I think, to get grip from the tree sap, that was amazing! I remember seeing sap bumps on those trees, they look like pimples. I really didn't know that would be an efficient method for survival type sinareos! That makes that look less survival and more safe and inviting to try instead of a difficult method! Really I came to view the chaga, and got to see what might be a good fire starting technique! Brilliant! And then if that works, have a nice tea after making a fire to relax!
Ha! I love that! I never quite thought of it like that -- the same mushroom can give us fire, then tea with the same one!! =)
Just found you. Most intriguing ideas! Was out hiking in the snow 2 weeks ago and found Chaga on a beech tree! For real! In all my mindful chaga harvesting experience I have never seen or heard of that before. There were many neighboring birch trees around that I inspected first which did not show signs of fruiting. Thoughts? Much thanks. Stay peaceful. :)
Tina, so glad to have you here! On a beech tree! Fascinating! I haven't heard of that before, but then again, I have always found that nature loves to "bend the rules". I've found chaga on "Ironwood" (Ostrya virginiana), and found a great harvest of oysters once on balsam fir. Both unusual, but not impossible. What a cool find you had!!
=) Kenton
@@ReWildUniversity Thanks Kenton, for your reply. Just watched your one day naked in winter video. Yaowza! Lol. Hats off to ya! That is a huge test of will and skills. Back to my initial comment to you, on reflection the birch trees that were near the chaga bearing beech tree did show signs of several birch polypore mushrooms too old to harvest. Perhaps Chaga flourished there in the past and since the BP moved into the area, chaga's will to survive in a birch polypore dominated region chose to 'make do' with the beech? Regarding the Oysters on ironwood, my that IS ambitious!
So cool! Amazing. Thanks for the video.
Absolutely, Nick!!! =)
I just heard of chaga a few weeks ago, I'm yet to learn how to use it for tea, medicinal. Thanks for teaching me how to use it for fire! Awesome, Kenton! Have a beautiful day! HUGS to you all!
Jane, thank you and HUGE hugs to you as well! Mirabelle is so valuing your presence on her channel!
@@ReWildUniversity Mirabelle really has something to say, I truely enjoy her video's. She is teaching me some! As are you! Thank you for your comment, it means very much to me! Much love! :D xxx
Kenton, I forgot to tell you, if you use CCleaner, they keep asking you to download the newest version. If you do that, they will kill you with popups to go and buy their program. So if you did, you best delete the whole thing, and download it new from the internet. Then remove cookies and all with it. The one I downloaded is the one I use, I refuse the new versions. Learned the hard way..lol All I have to do now if I used it, is log in to some of the pages I am on, like RUclips, but the computer remembers the passwords, if you allowed it to do that. Have a beautiful day! Much love! xxx
Amazing knowledge, thank you for sharing it
Thank you! Just watched your cutting video -- I have an old Albion sword from many years past, and bring it out now and again for a bit of cutting =)
@@ReWildUniversity Awesome, I have used Albions and love them. Gotta get me one some day.
The sword I’m using in the video is from Arms & Armor.
Awesome. Thank you, teacher.
Absolutely, Theia!! =)
Wow! Thank you for teaching us that! How amazing!
You bet, Julie!! =)
THANK YOU SO MUCH! It's June 2. 2021! NAMASTE!
We have bright orange & golden yellow Chaga on the Central coast of California.. as it ripens & hardens, it sometimes turns bright red & gets pretty big!
Sounds beautiful! Is it primarily on birches out there?
Wonderful knowledge my friend the best to you and your family
Thank you my friend! =) Kenton
....wow. y'know some people are just "unhateable." Kenton, you are love, my brother. Thx so much.
Thank you brother. Those words mean so much!
With love,
Kenton =)
Cool. I'd like to try this. No notch needed like with wood?
Definitely no notch. It's a little trickier to tell when you have an ember since you can't see it, but if you watch for that same thick, curling smoke you see when you're doing it wood-on-wood, you should be able to lift the spindle out, blow in the hole a little, and see an orange glow. Let me know if you try it!! =)
Kenton
Great video!
Thank you!!
ANother extremely useful video. Thanks Kenton and Happy Family Day from Canada
Thanks my friend! Love to you from the whole family! =)
Fascinating! I've never found or used chaga. Different uses for different parts makes sense so maybe I can make better use of it if I do find some!
It's great stuff Maude -- very wonderful in many ways!!! =)
That was friggin cool
Thank you for sharing your knowledge...and your respect for this marvel of Nature.
Absolutely, Heather!!! Your words are appreciated! =)
Which trees I could find chaga in the forest? Thanks for your video!please reply.
Hi Dale! You're looking for birches -- it grows on paper birch, but seems to prefer the longer-lived apex species called "yellow birch" or "golden birch". =)
I used a flint and Viking fire steel to spark onto a piece of Chaga and it worked first try. It was brilliant. I then used the ember to start a BBQ fire.
Guess what? Chaga holds an ember so well, I couldn't put the bloody thing out! It was hilarious!
In the end I had to pour a little water on it to put it out.
Thank you for the great video.
By the way. Whenever I am out foraging for mushrooms etc etc I always always say Thank you to the Lord, or whomever he sent down to guide me.
I always think that there is someone pointing me in the right direction. I guess they look down and say to themselves "Look that poor idiot needs a bit of help!" and suddenly, I find what I am looking for. It might be a lovely Cep, or a Birch Polypore, or some fantastic Fatwood.
I call the forest God's Supermarket.
I love it! Especially your humorous take on God's mental meanderings! We can all use a bit more of that kind of humor. And yes, when you listen with something deeper than hearing, we truly can be led just the right direction in the woods =)
@@ReWildUniversity Hello. I am glad you enjoyed my comment but I was only half joking about Divine Intervention.
Wether you are in a large wood, a huge forest or out in a remote area, it is always amazing to me that I manage to spot things that I am looking for. You are turning left and right, looking around at your feet or a few feet in front, looking at the base of trees or up high and then suddenly there is that magnificent Bolet, or Chicken of the Woods, or a dead standing pine full of Fatwood. It might be a Hare or a Rabbit, or the swirl of a Salmon or Trout in the river, whatever it is you are hunting, What are the chances of you looking in the right direction at precisely the right moment?
I am a Christian who does not go to church because of what it has become today. My relationships with God and Jesus are Direct. Having said that, I also believe in the spirits, both good and bad, of those who have gone to the other side. The dead and also the ancient spirits who are the guardians of the forest. I respect them all, even though I know that ultimately, Jesus reigns supreme over them, over us all.
I have been hunting, fishing, and practicing bushcraft in the wilderness for decades. Russia, British Columbia, the Rockies, and around Europe.
I can be fly fishing a stream, or wandering in a forest and I have the very distinct impression that I am not alone, that I am being watched. I always say Hello, and I always ask for permission to fish or hunt or forage. I am, after all, trespassing on their territory. If I want to cut a walking stick from a Holly tree or Blackthorn, I ask permission first.
I have often felt really quite uncomfortable but never really threatened. Respect is the key.
The other side, the other realms of existence are, to me, very real indeed.
I have been in houses where I have truly felt menaced and had to leave. That was before I understood that all I need to do is say the Lord’s Prayer, or Psalm 23 and invoke the protection of Jesus. The bad spirits are very powerful, they aim to terrify you. They feed on your fear, but Jesus stops them in their tracks.
So yes, I often feel that I am being guided, and thank goodness for that because if it was left to me on my own, I’d be right in the shit most of the time :-)
I really enjoyed watching you thank the Turkey Tail for providing its goodness to you.
That is what I do.
I find a beautiful fresh Cep, put it in my basket and then turn to look up to the sky and say “Thank you very much!”
I know I could not have succeeded on my own.
Sometimes you are very tired, cold and hungry and all you want is a fire and a hot brew.
Sometimes you struggle for ages to get that ember and start your fire. Then suddenly your tinder bundle bursts into bright flams. That Pine tea is now only minutes away. “Thank you Lord!”
It is no more complicated or difficult than that!
What a shame the world has now become a hate filled shit show dominated by insane individuals like Antifa.
I wish they knew what I know.
I pray for them to Wake Up before it’s too late!
The Wolves are at the door!
I am ready to fight, as my Father and Grandfathers fought, in two world wars, for Freedom and Democracy, for the futures of our children and grandchildren. I am ready to fight for Western Christian Civilization against the unspeakable evil of Communism.
I will not hide away in my perfect wilderness.
When the moment arrives, I will be at the front knowing that Right and Jesus are by my side!
The truth is always with us.
Keep safe and God Speed!
That is very cool with the Chaga.
Glad you liked it!! =)
Love info like this.. amazing.
Thanks Stella! Really enjoying your presence on our channel!! =)
On which side of the birch tree does chaga grow in line with the cardinal directions? Does it matter?
I have seen it on all sides! =)
WOW! I love Chaga tea!!!
Woohoo! Delicious and nutritious! =)
@@ReWildUniversity and beyond! lol
I enjoy your videos and the wisdom you share. I,m looking for an older video of yours about knowing when your body is really hungry and not giving in to false hunger.
Thank you John! I'm trying to remember which video that might be. Do you have any other recollections about it?
Love,
Kenton =)
Okay wow 👍🏻 That was cool. Yes I thought it was going to be crap but when you lit the ember with a freaking stick I was impressed for sure ❤️🔥 Yeah very cool video 😎 🍄 Thanks 🙏🏻
Ha! So glad you liked it, Marcus! That is pretty cool how the chaga lights, isn't it?
Thanks, we found some
So glad you found some, Adian! Woohoo! Pretty exciting when you find it, isn't it? =)
I'm going to have to start looking for chaga when I go out to salvage sites (does it live here in western WA?...). I volunteer with a local non-profit that salvages native plants from sites that are going to get developed. I never thought to try to salvage fungi from those sites too... thanks for sharing! Another great video :)
Daron, every day I'm grateful for the work you're doing. Now that I'm subscribed to your newsletter, it's so fun to get to learn more about your work. Just thinking of those plants you are salvaging is so encouraging!
Love to your whole family!
Kenton =)
Chaga lives on birch trees mainly so if you have any in rhat area, there's a huge possibility that you can find chaga. Just look around and many of them are usually high on the trees. Unfortunately you cannot take those. I found a ton that were super high on the trees. It's very good and you can replace coffee with chaga, honestly.
I found the Chaga but what kind of stick do I use to drill with thanks
Great that you found some chaga! For a spindle, you'll probably have best luck with a pith-centered dry stalk. You can harvest them now, during the winter, and will have the best luck with Jerusalem Artichoke, Mullein, Horseweed, or some of the straight, thicker goldenrods. Let me know if you get fire! And remember that the chaga will stay lit unless you get some water in there to put it out -- it is very good at holding on to its ember =)
Thanks for your reply but I live in Canada and I have never heard of any theses types of wood
Depending on where you are in Canada, you should have some of these near you. I'll give some links!
plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=SOLID
plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=HETU
plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=VERBA
plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=COCAC3
=) Kenton
Unique video on the subject. We don't get chaga where I live. I'd love to get my hands on some.
Thanks Nate. It is more of a Northern thing. Send me an email at rewilduniversity (at) gmail.com!
Love,
Kenton
I sell it on ebay as do hundreds of other people. We have tons of chaga where I live. I've only seen evidence of one other harvest and I 've found hundreds. Don't fret. I harvest sustainably. Sawing them off whenever possible and only harvesting 1 in 20 that I find. Ours are mostly on yellow birch and the chaga is sometimes 35 - 40 feet up. I don't bother with them. Ebay handle is tl501960
What a wonderful, teaching experience! This is the first video that I watched on your channel .. I'm now subscribed! 🙂 I can't wait to responsibly harvest some chaga! Question; for tea, do I grind a small piece in a coffee grinder? 🌱peace
Dee, thanks so much for your kind comment and subscription! So glad to have you on the channel! A coffee grinder works great -- basically, the finer the grind, the more surface area is available for the water to extract things. Of course, if it's too fine it can be tough to filter the grounds out of your tea, or they can get out through your tea filter/bag, but there is no harm in drinking some of them =)
what is the stick made of? what wood? how do you find it? thanks 4 great video.
Hi! That is Canada horseweed, but three others that work great are Jerusalem Artichoke, mullein, or a thicker goldenrod. You have to find dead, dried stalks -- look in the winter or spring. A solid wood stick, though possible to use, is VERY difficult for beginners, so I'd start with one of those four mentioned! =)
@@ReWildUniversity ok but i would like to use the same birch tree. i'm sure that you could use a branch from it, no?
@@ReWildUniversity guess i'll have to use your adice and go experiment myself... :)
@@militaryandemergencyservic3286 Do give it a try. My firemaking "guru" (check out Boggy Creek Beast) can do a hand drill with solid wood. I can't. I did once get it by doing it cooperatively with a friend, but if you have enough strength and technique, it's certainly possible you could do it on your own like BCB!! =)
Awesome! I'm gonna start using it as a supplement and came across your video by accident. Very insightful information. Thank you (:
So glad you liked it, Christoph!
=) Kenton
Watch Nyishar for all of the benefits of Chaga. He has other podcasts concerning pine pollen benefits.
Found a piece of chagha 2days ago. One video shows how to rasps the rough outer part off as kindling!? Cant wait to try this idea, makes more sense. What do I do with the weavles though? I washed it outside cuz I found it on the forest floor...a few holes in the sawn off surface.....probably fell of my predecessors bug out equipment?
I don't usually encounter too many bugs in the chaga, but if you sliced it relatively thin, you should be able to hand-pick or put it out in the sun for a few days to drive them out.
I am so very happy to have found you! I love your approach, personality and willingness to share your knowledge! Thank you! I have a question as I was researching chaga, I am wondering if what I have found is truly a chaga. I live in south east Wisconsin and found a large mass of what looks like chaga but it is growing on a dead cherry tree. Is this possible? I would like to harvest some of it but want to be sure first. Thank you for your beautiful, informative video; I am a subscriber now :)
Hi! Welcome to the channel! I'm pretty sure that isn't chaga, sadly. It is probably black knot fungus --
www.google.com/search?q=cherry+tree+disease&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALeKk02LMfeQQN1AIk5lip_KQsQxnNebWQ:1594846242044&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiOqumdkdDqAhUEG80KHXZMCpMQ_AUoAXoECA4QAw&biw=1536&bih=750#imgrc=4AaueTs4bTYZcM
However, if you want to send me a photo I can tell you for sure. You can find my email address at rewildu.com.
Thank you for your subscription, by the way! Chaga is amazing, and I hope you find some soon! =)
What a excellent video and awesome host your very intelligent wish I saw you earlier. I just subbed thanks for the info and sharing bro🤙
Absolutely! Cool channel by the way -- it was fun to see your kids in the woods =)
@@ReWildUniversity 😁✊BIG THANKS for the support that's really awesome to hear. Im a perfectionist lol so end result is always difficult and scary lolol
I'm hoping to teach them as much as I can we were looking for chaga for two days no luck but we scored big on fiddle heads today.. cheers friend thanks again made me smile 🤙
Aaagh! Wish we could switch woods for a bit! Haven't found fiddleheads, but tons of chaga here!
@@ReWildUniversity to bad we couldn't make a trade(;
Tq somuch for sharing ur knowledged peace from broneo sabah
Absolutely!!
I was looking for chaga benefits and found this video and still love the contents. That’s a really expensive fire starter as Chaga is super expensive in the city . Still it’s super cool to know you can start a fire using chaga.
It must be so expensive to buy! Are you somewhere that you could do a quest into the forestlands looking for it?
@@ReWildUniversity I live in a city in Los Angeles county, Southern California. So my climate zone is pretty far from anywhere chaga can grow. I just order small amount online once in awhile, I make tea until the water is almost colorless, maybe after 30th simmering . 🙏
@@5600hp Nice that you get so much out of it! Indeed, you're far from chaga country =)
From where did you get your winter coat (the winter brown clothing with the hood), how is it called? Very beautiful, It reminds me the traditional Kabyle burnous that we wear in the winter.
This is a very simple cloak that my wife made, basically by wrapping a blanket and sewing on a hood. I will research the Kabyle Burnous that you reference! Sounds very interesting!! =)
I just found what I hope is chaga on birch trees in New Hampshire but it is grey on the top and side, not the black I have seen here on youtube. Is this then not chaga?
Tim, if you write to me at rewilduniversity@gmail.com, you can send me some photos and I'd be happy to take a look!
=) Kenton
Hello and thanks for the great video.
I live in Northern Mi. My neighbor has a decent size birch tree with a nice amount of Chaga on it. Its on the edge of the swampy area behind her house. She has no problem with me harvesting it. But I am hesitant because its her septic field is about 10 yards up hill from it. What do you think? Would it still be safe to use for tea? Thank you and Have a Great Day
You're a neighbor! I was just singing a song to my girls about one of my favorite haunts up near Indianhead Mountain. And the Porcupines might be my all-time favorite place for adventuring. As for your chaga, I know many might disagree with me, but because the septic field is essentially turning her waste into fertilizer, I wouldn't have any fear about harvesting that chaga. I'd be able to make a better recommendation if I could see the situation in person, but all in all, there's still probably a good deal of soil between the tree and the septic, and every inch of travel through the soil breaks things down and makes them into usable nutrients.