Winter birchbark gathering method, best season, characteristics & found Chaga

I go out early May before the leaves are out, and gather a nice roll of winter bark for making a birchbark canoe.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Use 1080 HD or 720P for best quality ! Hope you enjoy this longer video !! Please subscribe, like & share, almost at 30K subs, what !? :)

[@mushercdn]

I didn't know about the winter/summer bark. Very interesting. That saw starts with a 1/4 pull! Thanks for the video.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Yes I love that saw. My favorite saw. Runs so well and eats wood like no tomorrow. It needs a sharpening now. Thanks for watching my friend !

[@maplehouseknives]

Happy to see you using a Husqvarna 😊 I don't comment much but love and appreciate your videos!👍🍻

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Thanks so much, awesome !

[@NotSoEpicAdventurer]

What a great channel!! Subscribed and looking to watching more - Merci! Cheers, Curtis Lafleche

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Thank you very much! I've gotta get back into making more videos !! Appreciate your comment. I seen your comment on my winter camping video. I am from Quebec, Saguenay Lac St Jean myself. Always wanted to visit temiscaming area. I believe there might be some nice white birches in abitibi area. I live in Alberta now but I do miss Quebec !! Welcome to the channel, Steve

[@NotSoEpicAdventurer]

@@NomadicWoodsman what a nice area to explore 💪🏽

[@jayceewedmak9524]

Hi Steve 😊 good to see you. Hope the family is doing well. I keep a putty knife in my pack - easier to start the peeling than a pointy knife. I always mess up when I use a knife lol You do an impressive job! 👍 Take care.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

My friend also used a putty knife to get it started. I'll have to buy me one and use it for my summer birchbark roll soon ! thanks for the tip !

[@timothylongmore7325]

I harvest a lot off yellow here in NY. Sell for medicine and make tinctures. The re-dried used tea chunks make a good bug repellant incense.

[@denislosieroutdoors]

Thanks for all the information... it's late April. I'm in New Brunswick I'm a mikma my generation has lost all knowledge of this art... now that I'm getting older for some reason, I'm craving to learn this... going to get some winter birch bark soon. How long, and how can I store it? Also is it like cedar bark if I cut the tree down and leave it for some time on the ground, maybe cover it with a tarp before peeling to hold moisture may peel easier? Thanks for sharing there eh! going to watch all ur vids on this

[@NomadicWoodsman]

I have only peeled trees that I had freshly cut or that I climbed in and peeled the live tree, so I do not know if cutting it in advance would make it easier to peel, I prefer peeling it fresh / live as much as possible. Once you peeled it, and rolled it (must be rolled while still wet or fresh harvested). You can leave your bark roll stored in a shed or a garage out of the elements (sun UV rays and rain) and you can store it pretty much indefinetly. No problem leaving it a year or two while you prepare your other building materials such as roots, lumber, etc. It is alot of work getting the winter bark as it is really glued on to the wood, but if you want to scrape off designs like my last video, you need that. Much easier to harvest summer bark in late june or july though ! But no artistic designs to be scraped off that one. good luck, Steve

[@charlesleblanc6638]

This cleared up a lot of the questions I had ... Know what you mean about the dark and mossy bark. Looked like good bark. Now I know what to look for thanks again ..How does your Native friend peel same way/tool ? You mentioned you built 3 B.B. Canoes, seen the 10 ft some of the 16 ft and parts of the 20 ft did I miss some of the videos ? Is the 16 & 20 done ?

[@NomadicWoodsman]

The first canoe I made with my friend Francois from 2010 to 2014, I posted a video of the photos as I did not do videos back then. Video is on my channel and called 'my first birchbark canoe from 2010 to 2014' or something like that. I put photos of some of the building steps. My other canoe (second canoe) was made with spruce bark, got that series up on my channel as the spruce bark canoe. And then the 10 footer(2020), and then the 15 footer(2022 to now). The 20 footer I am just getting started and it will be canoe #5 I think.

[@charlesleblanc6638]

@@NomadicWoodsman OK so your very first was a BB canoe .. I thought the 10 ft was. I watched most of them but didn't see the first one with photos.

[@blackspruceroutes]

thanks for sharing all this info !!! inspirational and educational! what is that piece of plastic you're using? thx

[@NomadicWoodsman]

It is a piece i cut off an old 5 gallon plastic bucket. Thickness and flexibility work well for peeling off bark ! Thanks for watching ! :) Cheers, Steve

[@blackspruceroutes]

@@NomadicWoodsman Thanks! After I took a few minutes to think about what I had around here I came to that conclusion! Great idea! Preparing to build a BBark next summer.... Will harvest the cedar Spruce and Ironwood this winter . Thanks again for all the information!

[@charlesleblanc6638]

Just came back from a little BB Hunt and found some dark bark with Moss/lichen, but the bark is kind of papery, thin and cracks along the lines which is no good for a canoe right ? Drives me nuts !! Because these trees are big and you would think the bark would be prime.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

If your sample reveals papery bark that de-laminates in small thin layers, that is no good. Drives me nuts as well when you find a beauty tree super straight and no knots, to find out the bark is thin and de-laminates, no good at all. That's why when I see people logging some nice birch with thick bark that stays in 1 thick cardboard piece, that drives me nuts too, could of made some nice things with the bark ! lol. Yes look for those characteristics, dark bark or even white bark with moss, needs to hold in 1 thick sheet, and straight no knots for 1 foot more than your intended canoe(13 feet for a 12 foot canoe to have some play/room for error in the stempieces), no mushrooms and tree is healthy, seems to have all it's branches / has nice leaves. The perfect tree unfortunately doesn't exist but you need to find a 'almost' perfect tree, which is hard to do.

[@charlesleblanc6638]

Just a word of caution Steve .. Tuck in the shirt while using the saw, so it doesn't get tangled in the chain, which could be dangerous, and wear chainsaw pants if you have them. Just saying !

[@NomadicWoodsman]

I should buy me some good chainsaw pants, when I have funds , I have a set of chaps but they bulky and heavy and so hot to wear when hiking in 1 km and back like this. I'll shop for some good lighter weight pant, pants, you are right. I try to be careful as much as possible but gotta be safe for sure.

[@charlesleblanc6638]

@@NomadicWoodsman you could always pack them in and just wear them on site .. Far away could also mean bleeding to death, which is much more of a problem then being hot !

[@NomadicWoodsman]

@@charlesleblanc6638 100% true. I'll be bringing them for my big 21 foot roll gather in June !! I should also bring my big orange chainsaw rubber boots. And my helmet ! :)

[@Sheepdog1314]

you lost me at cutting the tree down just for the bark

[@timothylongmore7325]

what? you know where wood comes from.... right? Ever see a commercial or private logging job?

[@jayceewedmak9524]

It's all good. The downed tree will provide shelter for some animals and reptiles and food for the forest floor etc. Not a waste at all. ✌