Elemental surprises

McLaughlin, Walt

Great Elm Press

Forest Under My Fingernails is a beautifully written book about a 267-mile, 33-day backpacking trip. At different times gently introspective, humorous, and thought-provoking, this book explores the changes we go through as we gradually immerse ourselves in the deep woods, and the different rhythms we experience there. Walt's work is relatively unknown, but we regard him as one of the most eloquent nature authors and poets writing today. We're proud to carry his book.

Forest Under My Fingernails: Reflections and Encounters on Vermont's Long Trail

Science & Math

Nature & Ecology

Heron Dance Press

What begins as a wilderness dream quickly becomes a gut-wrenching challenge to the author's most cherished beliefs, when the bush plane leaves and he's left alone to fend for his self. This taut narrative recounts one man's two-week sojourn in a harsh yet beautiful place, where brown bears, bald eagles and ravens teach the ways of the wild.

Arguing with the Wind: A Journey into the Alaskan Wilderness

Biographies & Memoirs

Memoirs

Wood Thrush Books

A brief history of the trail, along with a little natural history and philosophical speculation, are woven into this narrative about backpacking Vermont's Long Trail end-to-end in early summer. In addition to the flora and fauna, the author describes a few of the colorful characters also encountered along the way

Forest under my Fingernails: Reflections and Encounters on the Long Trail

Loon Wisdom brings together the best of McLaughlin's older essays and short narratives about elemental nature with new work that focuses upon the complex relationship between wildness and being human. Drawing from his own experiences in deep woods, along mountain streams, next to pristine lakes and elsewhere, the author explores his own passionate responses to the natural world while ever watchful for philosophical insights.

Loon Wisdom: Sounding the Depths of Wildness

The 100 Mile Wilderness, located in the immense forest of northern Maine, is the most remote section of the Appalachian Trail. With a German shepherd dog named Matika for company and a heavy backpack tugging at his shoulders, McLaughlin accepts the challenge, reveling in all the hardship that the North Woods has to offer. He reflects upon the evolution of the trail system, as well as the history of the region, while traversing mountain ranges, fording rivers and slogging through bogs. He contemplates his own inclination towards wildness while pressing southward, encountering scores of hardy AT thru-hikers on their final push to Mount Katahdin. The trail twists and turns. The journey holds many surprises. And the beautiful mystery of the natural world prevails.

The Unexpected Trail: Taking on the 100 Mile Wilderness

After flirting with cosmology for decades, speculative philosopher Walt McLaughlin acquires a 4.5-inch telescope then plunges deep into the night sky with all the passion of a seeker on a quest for truth. Viewing is accompanied by intense study as the author teaches himself the basics of astronomy and ventures into theoretical physics in an effort to understand the nature of the universe. The result is an excursion through various beliefs and hard-won facts, from ancient times to the present, punctuated by direct encounters with celestial objects. The Impossible Cosmos is a narrative of one man’s backyard discoveries, as well as a grand tour of cosmic phenomena and the questions they compel us to answer.

The Impossible Cosmos: A Year of Amateur Astronomy and Big Questions

Astronomy & Space Science

THE WORLD ENGAGED is a diverse collection of nature writing. The selections here range from the conventional to the experimental, from the deeply personal to the philosophical. Much of this poetry and prose has been taken from previous publications. Subject and style vary greatly, but it all comes from seasoned writers with keen eyes for their natural surroundings. Past contributors to Wood Thrush Books publications are represented here – Walt Franklin, Jeanne Shannon, Benjamin Green, William Weiss, Helen Ruggieri, Scott King, and half a dozen others – along with new contributors like Stuart Bartow, Susan Cohen, Alan Catlin, Vicki Graham and several more. There’s something in this anthology for everyone who feels the tug of wild nature.

The World Engaged: An Anthology of Nature Writing

A Reluctant Pantheism is one man's lifelong attempt to understand the relationship between God and nature. The conclusions that he draws from his direct encounters with the wild conflict with most of the belief systems he explores along the way. While considering thousands of years of religion, philosophy and science, as well as his own experiences, the author looks for a common thread running through all nature-based worldviews with regard to what is real. Is there a driving force in nature that creates order out of chaos? For some of those who ask this question the door remains wide open to the infinite possibilities of the great unknown.

A Reluctant Pantheism: Discovering the Divine in Nature

Religion & Spirituality

Religious Studies

In “Deep Forest Ruminations,” the main narrative in this collection, the author develops a philosophy tempered by the wild while camped with his German shepherd dog on a pristine lake in the West Canada Lakes Wilderness. Leading up to this experiment in staying put, the twelve shorter narratives and personal essays brought together here focus more on backpacking and snowshoeing in the Adirondacks over the course of two decades, both alone and with others. The result is a juxtaposition of thought and movement exploring the beauty, wonder and mystery of the natural world and our place in it.

The Great Wild Silence: Ruminations and Excursions in the Adirondacks

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Books by McLaughlin, Walt