Major will be to the rear of Nathan since he has only a dagger but it still might be of some use.
While the others check out ahead Uhura will carefully scope out the rear so the squad isn't attacked by surprise.
Nathan will motion to the rest of the group to stop and stay quiet then he will take a medium sized stone from the ground and throw it in the middle of the clearing. He will wait to see the result squatting between some bushes.
Get a branch or stick and poke around the area without having to actually go in the clearance part.
Major will look to see if there are any vines that could be used to swing across, if not he will look to see if there is a log long enough that could be used to make a bridge across it.