Backcountry Press

04/01/2026

A devastating fire recently swept through Arcata, claiming businesses and homes. The cause of the fire is still unknown, and the full scope of the loss is still coming into focus. Our hearts are with everyone impacted.

Today, we’re writing to share a reflection centered on Northtown Books —not because this loss stands alone, but because of our fifteen-year relationship with the store, its staff, and the role it has played in our lives and work.

For more than sixty years, Northtown Books has been a foundation of the Arcata community: a place where curiosity is encouraged, conversations unfold, and stories find their readers.

Northtown Books has sold thousands(!!!) of Backcountry Press books over the years, helping us and other small, independent publishing thrive. But beyond any financial impact, the loss is deeply communal. Independent bookstores like Northtown are cultural infrastructure. They strengthen local economies, elevate local voices, and remind us—especially in a digital age—that learning is relational and place-based.

We believe (and hope!) Northtown Books will return. Arcata is a community that shows up, and we’ve already seen that support gathering. From ash, new shelves will hopefully rise.

If you’re able, please consider supporting Northtown’s recovery and helping keep the reading alive. Here’s 2 ways:

👉 Donate here: https://giveahand.com/fundraiser/northtown-books-fire

👉 When you purchase a book from our online shop, put “Northtown” in the purchase note and we’ll donate 50% to their recovery fund.

Thank you for being part of a community that values stories, science, and connection—on the page and beyond it.

With gratitude,
Michael & Allison

Photo 1: by
Photo 2: by

04/01/2026

More Than a Bookstore — Standing with Northtown Books
https://backcountrypress.com/2026/01/more-than-a-bookstore-standing-with-northtown-books/

Yesterday’s fire in Arcata took businesses and homes and the loss is deeply felt. In our reflection, we focus on Northtown Books — the community bookstore that has shaped our town for over 60 years and been a trusted partner to Backcountry Press for 13.

Independent bookstores like Northtown are cultural anchors. They are places of curiosity, connection, and community. We believe Northtown will return even stronger, thanks to the people who love it. If you’re able, please consider helping keep the reading alive:

👉 https://giveahand.com/fundraiser/northtown-books-fire
📖❤️

Photo: Ben Okin

02/01/2026

Today hope looked like Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) returning home to our neighborhood creek.

Grateful for this reminder as we step into a new year, and wishing you well as you travel around the next bend! 💫

19/12/2025

Stay dry—or not! Either way, the Klamath Mountains have held two impressive rain records for the last 45 years:

1. Wettest month ever recorded in California (December 1981: 81.9” of rain!)

2. AND the wettest year on record in the continental U.S. (1981-1982: 254.9” of rain!!)

Do you think these will hold for our lifetimes??

as rain returns to the Klamath Mountains this week, we’re reminded that today’s storms – however dramatic – our echoes of deeper atmospheric stories written into these mountains.

💧 Find this story and more in “The Klamath Mountains: A Natural History”

☔️ AND take 25% OFF all our books, classes, merch, and even CEUs for Arborists now through the Winter Solstice!

🌧️ Use code SOLSTICE25 to save 25%

19/12/2025

We’re celebrating the return of the light with 25% OFF EVERYTHING!

🌟 Sale goes until the Winter Solstice, December 21st



🌲 Use code SOLSTICE25 to save 25% on Books, Classes, Merch, and even CEUs for Arborists

16/12/2025

Nearly 45 years ago—almost to the day—the rain fell harder here than it ever has before.

As a winter storm gathers offshore this week, we’re looking back to the legendary winter of 1981–82, when stalled Pacific storms drenched the Klamath Mountains with record-breaking rainfall. From a remote lookout called Camp Six, scientists documented what would become known as the Mother of All Storms—a record that still stands today.

We just published a new blog post telling that story: of rain, mountains, memory, and why this landscape continues to teach us humility and wonder.

It’s also a reminder that winter is a season for slowing down—listening to the rain, and learning the deeper stories written into place.

👉 Read the blog here: https://backcountrypress.com/2025/12/when-the-rain-truly-fell-remembering-the-mother-of-all-storms/

And if you’re looking for the perfect companion for rainy days, check out The Klamath Mountains: A Natural History—a book shaped by the same storms, forests, and deep time.

Let the rain fall. Let the stories rise. Thanks to Michael Furniss for help with this post and for his epic data collection!

Nearly 45 years ago, the Klamath Mountains saw record-breaking rainfall. Explore the Mother of All Storms—and a perfect winter read.

09/12/2025

Sending out a big for supporting small businesses during this time of year! The holiday rush helps keep us all afloat during the slower times. This appreciates you!!

Backcountry Press is a small, family-run publishing house where books are made with care, curiosity, and a love of wild places. Like any good backcountry expedition, everyone carries more than one tool – and pitches in when the trail gets steep or the boxes get heavy.

Meet The Team, from L-R:

Sylas: SWISS ARMY HUMAN who’s favorite roles include mushroom finder, gardener, trail builder, epic snack preparer, and part time book packager

Asa: CHAOS COORDINATOR specializing in comic relief and cuddles

Michael: STORY STEWARD & CHIEF WORD WRANGLER shaping ideas into books and truly so much more

Echo of the Moon: WORK BREAK ENFORCEMENT

Allison: DESIGN TRAILBLAZER & PAPER TRAIL MANAGER spreading beauty, wrestling with spreadsheets, and cultivating community

Backcountry Press is a passion project turned business that has looked to the same mission as our for our 13 years: To enhance the human connection with the natural world through easy to understand science and direct experience in nature.

⭐️ We hope you’ve felt a bit of that mission shine through our library of 18 books and collection of classes.

Thanks for all the support throughout the years! You can find our books at your favorite neighborhood bookstore or at our online shop at our 🔗.

18/11/2025

Well this is exciting!

“Backcountry Press is one of Humboldt’s great cultural institutions. We at love it very much and send it a million congratulations on its latest triumph.”

What an honor!

Congrats to authors Matt Ritter and Michael Kauffmann .kauffmann!

Sending a big thank you to the National Outdoor Book Awards for this recognition, and to our local friends at The Lost Coast Outpost and for sharing this news 🌟

You’ll find the full story at our 🔗

12/11/2025

🍄‍🟫🧠🍄‍🟫 Boletes on the Brain?

There’s a solid basketful of mushrooms considered “boletes”—those mushrooms with a central stipe, cap, a tube layer with pores, and a soft or fleshy texture. These include the Boletus genus, and in the PNW, about 20 additional genera.

Let’s get to know the “Core” boletes.

These mushrooms are commonly called “porcini”—Italian for “little pig.” These species produce robust fruitbodies with white flesh, reticulate (raised veins that look like a fish-net pattern), club-shaped stipes, and small, densely packed tubes. The pores are white or light creamy yellowish when young.

Say hello to...

1. Boletus barrowsii (White King)
2. Boletus subalpinus (Humble King)
3. Boletus rex-veris (Spring King)
4. Boletus edulis var. edulis (King Bolete, Porcini) - commonly associated with spruce and firs
5. Boletus edulis var. grandedulis - associates with hardwoods and conifers, but generally not spruce
6. Boletus edulis in coastal spruce
7. Boletus fibrillosus (Fib King)

And we have to include the...

8. Bolete Eater! (Hypomyces microsperma)
A common bolete-parasitic mold (likely poisonous)

9. Check out the handy “Boletes” 🌟THUMB TAB🌟 in “Mushrooms of Cascadia: A Comprehensive Guide to Fungi of the PNW” by & to peruse this group in all its beefy fruiting body beauty.

10. Fall sale is on! Buy One Get One 50% Off with Free Shipping at our 🔗

29/10/2025

⭐️ HOT OFF THE PRESS ⭐️

“There has never been a book like ‘San Francisco Bay Area: An Environmental History.’ It is the new mandatory read for all citizens of this unique and precious place. In essence, it is a handbook that details what it is to call this place home.” - Obi Kaufmann

Agreed.

After years of work, we’re so pleased to have this new book in our hands today! Congratulations to author David Schmidt for weaving such potent and engaging stories for us to enjoy and learn from.

📘 SALE ENDS 11/1 — free ebook with your paperback at our 🔗!

22/10/2025

Mushrooms are popping, and we’re feeling downright giddy!

🚨 You’ve been warned, this account will be hacked by the mycophiles among us for the next few weeks.

We’ll be sharing spoonfuls of tasty info on what’s popping throughout the PNW taken right from our favorite tome on the topic by Christian Schwarz & Noah Siegel :

“Mushrooms of Cascadia: A Comprehensive Guide to Fungi of the Pacific Northwest”

(which is also currently on sale at our 🔗 for Buy 1 Get 1 @ 50% Off with Free Shipping 😍)

🐷 We’re starting off with Gomphus clavatus, Pig’s Ear

• Practically unmistakable: purple-veined or ridged undersides, tan to olive-beige caps, and tendency to fruit in clumps or rosettes
• Grows in and moss in conifer forests
• Common west of the Cascade Crest
• Fruiting in the fall
• Young specimens are tender edibles, some considering them a delicacy

📗 You’ll find this beauty and much more detail in the “Canthatelloid” thumb tab section

Happy Mushrooming!

10/09/2025

California Trees: TONIGHT Sept. 10th, 6-8pm PT

👋 In-person at the D St. Neighborhood Center in Arcata, CA
or 🏠 Zoom in (find link at northcoastcnps.org)

Journey through the state’s diverse landscapes and learn about the remarkable variety of native tree species that call it home!

Join .kauffmann, co-author of “California Trees: A Field Guide To The Native Species,” , and for this engaging evening program.

You’ll hear stories of:
1. The California Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera)
2. The ancient Bennett Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis)
3. The Island Oak (Quercus tomentella)
4. The Bristlecone Fir (Abies bracteata) [PC: Jeff Bisbee]

…and many more. Hope to see you!