I recently wrote a blog on why Chaga might not be all that it is cracked up to be, and you can find that blog right here. If, however you find yourself still seeking to find this treasured fungal pathogen then I have compiled a list below of four common reasons people have trouble finding Chaga. Enjoy!
You Stay On The Path
If there is any way to assure yourself of not finding Chaga this is the head honcho of reasons. Get off of the path! The reason here is fairly simple: Everyone walks on the paths, and chances are pretty high that you are not the only person that is out there looking for Chaga. I would in fact be very surprised if you were the only Chaga hunter in your area. That is like believing that in the entire universe there are no other life forms.
Removing yourself from the safety of the path does insert a little bit more chance of getting lost however, so if you are out in the woods looking for Chaga do yourself a big favor and pay attention to where you are in the woods. Most people nowadays have fully functioning GPS on their phones and these devices work great when there is cell service. If you are in an area without cell service I highly suggest carrying a compass, a map or a person with you that actually pays attention to the directions you are wandering to and from. Using blaze marks works wonders, as does having what we navigators call a “handrail”. Whatever method you choose to use, please choose so wisely.
If you want to score massive amounts of Chaga then I suggest that once your navigating skills are up to snuff that you skip places that even have trails! Go to a wooded area that is so desolate that the only trails you see are deer trails. These are the places that one finds good, untouched Chaga!
2. You Don’t Circle Trees.
Yep, you read that correctly. If you are looking for Chaga but have not found any there is a good chance you are ignoring 50% of every tree that you pass by. This may sound startling to some, but I assure you many, many people walk right by perfectly good Chaga simply because it was on the backside of the tree and he or she failed to gaze upon the tree in its entirety.
A good ol’ fashioned tree circling is one very quick method that assures you that you are not passing by perfectly good pathogenic nuggets of goodness. A typical approach that I use is to circle each and every Birch tree that I see in an area I am out seeking Chaga in. This usually means brushing snow away from the bases of the trees as Chaga can be found at literally any elevation on Birch trees. I have seen it in the tops of trees, and I have found it growing out of the aboveground portions of roots. Checking everywhere on every tree is a way that will assure you that this time you will find some Chaga!
3. You Are Not Going to New Areas.
I find this one to be extremely common among the reasons people do not find Chaga. Most people don’t put in the appropriate amount of footwork to actually find the stuff! When our family goes out to pick Chaga it is usually an affair that is going to take a couple of hours. I have spent entire days looking for Chaga, driving from spot to spot. Sometimes you luck out and find it at the first spot you arrive at, but other times it may not show itself to you for the first couple of places. Don’t give up hope, rewards are given to those that work hard.
Not only does checking out new places enhance your odds of finding Chaga, but it also allows you to spot new places that you might never have visited before, exposing you to other possible foraging or hunting opportunities, and not to mention giving you plenty of exposure to the beautiful areas of our world that haven’t yet been turned into parking lots! That is always a good thing! I suggest getting ON-X the hunting app if you want to be able to see property boundaries and make sure that you are not trespassing on other peoples land! Abiding by the laws gives all of us hunters and foragers a better name.
4. You Are Not Checking Every Tree.
Dudes and Dudettes that bring home hauls of Chaga check every tree. Every. Single. Tree. Think of it this way, if you are not checking every single tree then you are passing up potentially a good amount of Chaga. This is very easily accomplished when going on group Chaga forays. When alone it is much more difficult to keep track, but there are tactics I have found that work just fine. If there is snow on the ground then your own tracks tell the tale of your previous visit. Without snow there are any number of things that one could do from putting a sharpie mark on the white birch (Calm down, it will wash off in time) that you will recognize to stacking sticks in a familiar pattern on the ground below each checked tree.
Learning to navigate through a forest while simultaneously looking at (and hopefully circling) each Birch tree you see is a tricky thing to learn how to do, but it becomes easier with practice.
Becoming a Chaga Ninja
Following the steps above should help to make you a certifiable Chaga Ninja. People will flock to you from miles away to hear about your harrowing journeys through Birch Forests! Just kidding! But in all seriousness, if you take the above lessons to heart then you should definitely find more Chaga and be able to find it on a more consistent basis. And once again, if you have not already read my other Chaga blog, then you are missing out! Check that out right here.
Hot “Chaga”late Tea
If you still haven’t found any Chaga, you can check out our very own Chaga Hot Chocolate. My family has been drinking this for years for taste as well as health!
Thank you so much for reading this Blog about Chaga! If you enjoyed reading this content and you would like to help support me on my mission to help you learn then please go through any of the Amazon links on this website (like the one below) and do your normal Amazon shopping. This costs you nothing extra but it does give me a tiny percentage of what you spent! Thank you in advance!
Full disclosure: I have never read the book below, and I cannot state my allegiance to its content! Could be good, but might be bad( The cover calls it a mushroom for cryin’ out loud)!
