The burnt growth on Birch trees- Adirondack field notes

Dave's excitement caught me off guard.

We had been walking back to the jeep after spending most of the day exploring campsites in the Adirondacks. Although the calendar claimed it was spring,

the weather was still holding onto winter as if it didn't want to fully let go.

We hadn't said anything for about a quarter mile, so when Dave suddenly said,

"Look at that burnt-looking mushroom on that tree!" In an astonished tone,

my eyes immediately started scanning the woods. 

There it was!

Oozing like a burnt scar from the side of a birch tree.

The incredible chaga mushroom. 

At first my mind went to truffle, but within seconds I realized this thing belonged to an entirely different world. 

At home in a mason jar we already have a stash of dried chaga powder.

I've been adding it to broths, coffee, and mixing it into our meals for a while.

I already had a fascination with this strange fungus. 

My heart skipped a bit when I was finally privileged enough to see it in the wild. Not in powder form inside a mason jar. Not in a bag delivered by an Amazon truck. But growing right out of the side of a living birch tree in the cold Adirondack woods.

I'm from the south, Georgia, to be exact,

and I haven't explored or foraged much in the northern forests yet. Since moving to New York at the end of last fall, the northern woods have started feeling like an entirely different world to me.

The interesting thing about chaga is that the fungus begins inside the tree, consuming the birch, soaking up minerals and beneficial compounds for years before the black charcoal-looking mass is ever noticed on the outside. 

The relationship between birch trees and chaga is bittersweet.

The fungus is slowly eating the birch, which over years of doing so, eventually ends the life of the tree leaving behind a little medicinal treat for humans and animals to find. 

The chaga that is harvested isn't actually the mushroom itself. It is a sterile conk, a living knot of fungal material and tree compounds fused together over years.

Long before chaga became a trendy powder

in health stores, people in the cold forest regions of Siberia, Russia, Scandinavia, and northern/eastern Europe were brewing it into teas and decoctions during harsh winters. 

For thousands of years, humans were using what looked like burnt lava stuck to the side of a tree, and here I was standing in the Adirondacks with Dave and Emerald snapping photos with a Samsung phone.

Nature has a way of gifting you with surprises.

It seems when you don’t expect to be given something that is when it likes to offer you a little treat. Since we were there scouting campsites we didn't have any foraging tools with us.

A convenient little hatchet would have been handy.

This was my reminder to keep some foraging tools in the jeep from now on.

Something to keep in mind is that when harvesting chaga it is important to leave some behind.

Not because the growth is beneficial to the tree, actually the opposite is true, but removing the entire chaga would leave an open wound which would cause more damage to the birch while also ending the fungal process. It is best to be respectful of natures gifts and the natural ways of the forest.

Not everything belongs to us, we can benefit without causing more harm.

Personally, I like to leave about 30% behind. 

Like I mentioned before, chaga looks like dried lava, interestingly enough when you cut into a piece the inside is like a burnt orange color, similar to cooled fire. 

Once chaga is harvested

it is wise to prepare it the same day. Once it dries it becomes very hard. It can be a bit difficult even fresh.

Using the back of an ax or a blunt object, carefully break the chaga down into small bits. I like to use a wood cutting board. Then scoop the little pieces into a glass jar. Later, you can dry and turn into powder.

When you are ready, bring some water to a simmer, drop in a tablespoon or two of the chaga and let it slowly simmer for about 30 minutes. This is the perfect moment to pause, thank the forest for such a wonderful gift, and really be present in the moment. Watch the water turn earthy brown, smell the gentle steam as it embraces you with its woodsy and rustic scent.

As you take the first sip remember you are experiencing one of humanity’s first medicines, something ancient, something sacred, something that took several years to form.

That is definitely a special cup of tea.

Since moving north, the forest has been introducing itself to us one piece at a time.

The more time we spend out here, the more we realize how blessed we truly are,

That way of living slowly shaped what became The Sigh of Relief Method, a grounded approach to food and creating a life that actually feels good again.

Somehow I have a feeling the northern woods are just getting started introducing themselves to us.

Maybe next time it’ll be birch bark curling in the snow or a patch of morels hiding beneath the spring leaves.