Two giant redwoods once guided sailing vessels past a shipwreck hazard. Then they disappeared into some lumberman’s pile of planks. Read all about them, and the rest of Oakland's redwoods, in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

There is a power in small beings. First you have to attend to it -- something the Trump regime just hates. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Given everything they were put through, the Wiyots should have been exterminated. But they refused to disappear. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Rain taught Thomas Merton how to attend to the moment. Then he saw the redwoods. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Trappist monk, mystic, & author of bestselling SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN Thomas Merton wrote of his pilgrimage to the redwoods, "Who can see such trees and bear to be away from them?" He vowed to return -- yet never did. Read all about it in my latest Substack. ramcnally.substack.com/p/to-see-suc...

In big struggles it's often the small things that make the difference. This is one such case, the story behind the name given to an old-growth redwood grove on California's Lost Coast. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Five years ago, Donald Trump instigated a violent insurrection in the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election. The fact that the GOP coddled him, protected him, renominated him, and now support him in office, is a stain that will never be erased.

My latest Subtack, on how Henry David Thoreau predicted Donald J. Trump's campaign to desecrate the wild by stripping it for parts. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

As the New Year is born, envision less division in 2026. www.theborderchronicle.com/p/re-envisio...

My latest on Substack, about what Trump shares -- and doesn't -- with the epic hero Gilgamesh. It's the "doesn't" that really counts. Please give it a read and let me know what you think. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

No less a prophetic vision than Moby-Dick fell for it. The madness continues today. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

@ramcnally.bsky.social joins the Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer to discuss CAST OUT OF EDEN, his new biography of John Muir. bit.ly/49H7bru

Unfortunately, the New York Times fell into a worn assumption about the wall separating environmentalism and social justice. It's not that simple. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Sometimes moving ahead means stepping aside to rethink. That's what I've been doing with my Substack for the past several weeks. Now it's back on track and following a different path from before. Let me know what you think. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Love it that my publisher, @univnebpress.bsky.social, makes sure that good reviews of my CAST OUT OF EDEN reach a wider reading audience.

Thomas Wilmer named his NPR "Journeys of Discovery" podcast with me about John Muir and CAST OUT OF EDEN the best of last year's best and has reposted it. Appreciation to Tom for the nod and to Katya Cengel for connecting me to Tom in the first place. www.kcbx.org/podcast/jour...

So, supplying the weapons of war makes said supplier a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. May want to rethink that.

In September, SC staff & volunteers traveled to D.C. to participate in Wilderness Week to ask Congress to protect our public lands, support the Roadless Area Conservation Act, and safeguard park rangers & other stewards of shared lands.   sc.org/RACA sc.org/LandsAction @natlwilderness.bsky.social

Tonight's the night! At 6:30 p.m. I'll be at the Mill Valley (Calif.) Public Library (375 Throckmorton) to talk about CAST OUT OF EDEN and take audience Q&A. To register for this free event, follow the link. Hope to see you there! millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/14529233

Next week, CAST OUT OF EDEN is heading to Mill Valley, CA. Wed., 10/8, 6:30–8, I'll be talking about the book and taking questions at the Mill Valley Public Library, 375 Throckmorton Ave. Register for the free event through the link. Hope to see you! millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/14529233

“When you’re alone, you can become part of nature and your humanity doesn’t get in the way. It’s almost like an out-of-body experience when suddenly you hear different sounds and you smell different smells and you’re actually part of this amazing tapestry of life.” Jane Goodall, 2021.

This evening, 9/24/, 7 p.m., I'll be talking with poet and scholar Denise Low-Weso re: John Muir and Native resilience as part of her Indigenous Voices series at THE 222 art gallery in Healdsburg, Calif. For tickets, follow the link. And please join me! the222.org/product/indi...

CAST OUT OF EDEN in Healdsburg, Calif., this Thursday evening, 7 p.m. For full details about and tickets to this event in an amazing art space, please follow the link. Hope to see you there! the222.org/product/indi...

My latest on Substack, about a solitary backcountry trip that made me aware of what I knew but had yet to admit. Please give it a read -- and tell me what you think. ramcnally.substack.com/p/healing-in...

Today's *real* headline that @theonion.com wouldn't have even tried: US President Sues New York Times For $15 billion Over Articles Questioning His Success.

CAST OUT OF EDEN is heading to Healdsburg, Calif.! Thursday, 9/25,7–8:30 p.m., at THE 222, 222 Healdsburg Ave., in conversation with poet Denise Low (Lenape) about John Muir & Native resilience in her Indigenous Voices series. Order tickets via this link. the222.org/product/indi...

Like many girls growing up in the eighties and nineties, @mfraterrigo.bsky.social leaned on popular culture to transition from childhood to adolescence and beyond. Save 40% on THE PERILS OF GIRLHOOD when you order now: bit.ly/467xun5

"The rain starts, a soft thrum, and Dylan, our pandemic lab-collie mix darts from his bed and hurls himself at my ankles." In this essay, @mfraterrigo.bsky.social explores how to limit re-trauma when writing. Read it on Brevity (@dintywmoore.bsky.social): bit.ly/4m2M2KH

THE PERILS OF GIRLHOOD by @mfraterrigo.bsky.social is a "raw and courageous exploration of her own life, the lives of her friends and family, and the lives of her two now-teen daughters," writes Patrick T. Reardon for Third Coast Review. bit.ly/3Kb1qY8

A notorious plant parasite -- think THE LAST OF US -- has a great deal to say about walking alone in the wild. My latest Substack explains. Do check it out, please, and leave a comment. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

By interrogating the personal and emotional toll of being female, the essays in THE PERILS OF GIRLHOOD by @mfraterrigo.bsky.social serve as a reckoning for women and girls. Enter our goodreads giveaway for a chance to win a copy: bit.ly/4mNApbl

At moments of extreme danger, John Muir and Alexander von Humboldt shared a cosmic vision of creation. Discover what they saw in my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

"Heading High with No Plan B," my latest on Substack, Iooks at how John Muir willingly took cold and hunger as the price to pay for exploring the Sierra Nevada. Have a read. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

My latest on Substack, the Trumpian strategy to profit from national parks by breaking them. Read all about it! ramcnally.substack.com/p/break-nati...

John Muir was a big fan of Yosemite. Would he have also been a big fan of the Netflix series set in Yosemite? To find out, read my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Not everything that spills from the guru's mouth is true, and it always pays to question and corroborate. Read all about it in my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

This short video from one of my wildlife cameras in the Trinity County backwoods features a tiny, bright-eyed deer mouse taking an unexpected ride down a slippery slope. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

This week it's about nature mysticism, something John Muir did well and which many of us share with him. Have a read and please leave a Comment on your own experiences of awe in the presence of the wild. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Read all about it, and what it means, in my latest Substack post. And please do subscribe; it's free.

This snake did surprise me. Which in a way was the point. Read all about it in my latest Substack post.

The wild things aren't coming; they're already here. An important lesson about the world lies in this reality. Read all about it in my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

One of the best things about being a nature & outdoors writer is the chance to meet the neighbors, often unexpectedly. Here's today's: a Northern Pacific rattlesnake in Mt. Diablo SP outside Clayton, Calif. Never rattled, not once. Often the best encounters are the ones you don't expect.

My latest Substack post, on scrubbing public history clean and getting folks to rat on folks. It's a MAGA thing. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

This evening, 6/23, 6 p.m., CAST OUT OF EDEN & I will be the guests of Malcolm Margolin and his California Institute for Community, Arts, & Nature at the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA. Seating limited, so RSVP to Clare Greensfelder at [email protected]. See you there!

There is a MAGA plan for the national parks. That's what's scary. Read all about it in my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

There's a twisted strategy behind Trump 2.0's assault on the national parks. It begins with breaking the most popular of the nation's public assets. Read all about it in my latest Substack post, "DOGE-ing the national Parks: First, Break Them."

The Trump Slump is affecting every state. That's why the Illinois General Assembly and I doubled down on fiscal responsibility. Despite all the headwinds from DC, Illinois' FY26 balanced budget invests in the future of our communities from education to health care.

CAST OUT OF EDEN comes to Berkeley, CA, Monday, June 9, 6 p.m., at the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way at Oxford. Sponsored by Malcolm Margolin's California Institute for Community, Arts, & Nature. Limited seating; please RSVP to [email protected]. Hope to see you there!

Busting up big corporations and tackling Wall Street’s greed. Getting big money out of politics.  Strengthening unions and fighting for higher wages. Medicare for all, paid family leave, universal childcare... This is the progressive populist agenda we need in America.

The amazing thing about this story is that for nearly five decades no one else paid attention to John Muir's contempt for people racially and ethically unlike himself. Read all about it in my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...