Campfire Chat: A Fresh Look and a Grateful Heart

Where I Go Inside About the Outside

Pull up a camp chair. Let's chat.

Campfire Chat is my monthly excuse to unpack what's been happening in the world, in the woods, and in my own head. Think of it as catching up with a friend around the campfire, minus the smoke in your eyes and the pressure to share your marshmallows.

Remember those changes I hinted at last month? They’re here! Field Trip and Trail Mix have a whole new look, and I am so happy to finally invite you in.

It feels especially good to share this in November, when Thanksgiving has so many of us thinking about the people who make our lives better. Building this new version of Field Trip has given me plenty of reasons to think about mine. It has also given my laptop a rather permanent spot on the nightstand.

📖 On My Nightstand: A Very Well-Used Laptop

I wish I had a wonderful book to recommend. This month, it’s been my laptop.

The website and Trail Mix redesigns have been months in the making, and frankly overdue. I’ve woken up in the middle of the night remembering one more thing to tweak, an idea to try, or a way to make it easier to find your way around. Apparently, my brain considers website navigation a perfectly reasonable middle-of-the-night activity.

Coretta, my right hand and operations extraordinaire, has been right in the thick of it with me. Co-conspirator, wizard, cheerleader. Someone who could take one of my “What if we tried...” ideas and help me see it through. I have put an awful lot of love into this project, and I’m grateful I didn’t have to do it alone.

I’m proud of how it turned out. I hope you find it prettier, more fun, easier to navigate, and more accessible. There’s plenty of work behind the scenes, too, helping people find our stories in the first place.

Please poke around. And if you find something odd, land on a dreaded 404, or think of a way we could make it better, tell us. We mean that. We want more people to feel welcome outdoors, and the place where we share that invitation should feel welcoming, too.

🦃 On My Mind: Making Room

That word, welcome, means a lot to me. When we left Maine, I worried about losing the community we had built over so many years. We still miss our people there, and I don’t take lightly the effort our friends make to come visit. But South Carolina has surprised me with a community every bit as solid. And somewhere along the way, people I met through Field Trip became some of my closest friends.

With Thanksgiving coming, that’s what I keep thinking about: how much of a life is held together by people making room for one another. My mom does it quietly. She has been a steady support to Liam and me, especially this past year, without making any of it about herself. She loves the saying about the fragrance that lingers on the hand that gives a rose. I think of her every time I hear it.

I see that care in the life Liam and I are building, too, and in the little check-ins from our grown kids. A funny text. A call that, occasionally, isn’t even a request for something! I miss all three of them terribly. Those small moments of connection count for a lot when we can’t be together.

There’s something lovely about that kind of giving. It doesn’t have to be elaborate to matter. Which brings me to a conversation I’m especially glad we’re sharing this month.

❤️ Kindling: A Little Warmth Goes a Long Way

This month's People Who Give a Damn conversation with Beth Amodio of One Warm Coat explores kindness, second chances, and the difference a warm coat can make.

Between Thanksgiving and the new year, we hear plenty about kindness, generosity, and grace. One Warm Coat makes those words wonderfully practical. A coat someone no longer needs can help another person get through a cold day.

I love an idea that gives us somewhere to put our good intentions. And as I start thinking about holiday gifts, it’s a useful question to carry along: what would actually make someone’s day, or life, a little better?

🎁 Inside the Tent: The No-Junk Gift Guide

Gift-giving is one of my love languages. I love finding something that says, “I know you. I thought of you.” I just don’t love the pile of waste that so often comes along with it.

Reusable bags and boxes have happily replaced wrapping paper and ribbons around here. But what goes inside matters, too. I want a gift to be useful and loved well beyond the day it’s opened.

That’s what we looked for in our No-Junk Gift Guide. Field Trippers enjoy the outdoors in so many different ways, and the guide makes room for all of them. I’m excited to share the things that have earned their place.

Of course, loving nature can also lead to some gifts that deserve a second thought.

🧵 Thread I’m Pulling: Leave a Little Wild

My family’s pets are thoroughly spoiled. No one is shocked. And I’ll admit that while rehabbing squirrels, I’ve occasionally imagined keeping one in the safety and warmth of our home forever.

But I know better, and I want better for them. When a squirrel is ready for release, going back to the wild is the happy ending, even when I’ve become ridiculously attached.

Also live this month: Wildlife Doesn’t Belong Under the Tree. A timely conversation about holiday gifts and the animals we love.

And it isn’t only living animals we need to think about. Yes, there’s a market for things like taxidermied bats. I’m not condemning all taxidermy, but I do want us to ask where an animal came from and whether a purchase could support illegal collection or trade.

A beautiful nature book, wildlife art, or a gift that helps protect habitat can celebrate someone’s love of animals without bringing home the animal. Meanwhile, for the pets who already belong in our homes, we’ve been looking at how to make their everyday routines a little gentler on the planet.

♻️ On the Ground: The Everyday Stuff

That’s where My Dog Recycles comes in. Food, play, sleep, and yes, potty time: caring for our four-legged family members gives us plenty of places to try something different.

And it's timely, too. November 15 is America Recycles Day. A good reminder to check what our local programs actually accept and make recycling a habit that lasts beyond the date on the calendar.

Our new story, The Bin Is Just the Beginning: How to Start a Recycling Program That Actually Works, looks at the people, planning, and follow-through that help a program keep going.

I appreciate that practical side of things because I know how easily a good intention can get stuck. Take my many attempts at composting. The mess. The smells. The visiting critters. You know I usually welcome critters, but my compost pile has tested the limits of that hospitality.

Our Mill food recycler, affectionately known as Mabel, has made handling food scraps so much easier. She’s earned a spot in the gift guide and a very enthusiastic recommendation from someone who has tried, and abandoned, composting more than once.

Making an everyday routine easier is its own small victory. Then there are the people who decide to take on something considerably bigger.

📍 Pinned to the Map: Sixteen Days Away From It All

In Sixteen Days, Zero Bars, One Grand Adventure, Julie, our Social Storytelling Director, shares her Grand Canyon rafting trip and what happened when she stepped beyond her comfort zone.

I remember our conversations as the trip got closer: the excitement, the nerves, and the question of how on earth to pack for it all. I love that she and her husband, Bruce, went for it, and that she brought the story back to share with us. And those photos. WOW.

Not every adventure has to be that bold. But after spending so much time making a place to share outdoor stories, reading hers is a pretty good reminder to go out and have a few of my own. Preferably without bringing the laptop.

🎒 Packing Out

Before I close it, though, one more thank-you. Field Trip exists because you read, explore, ask questions, and write back. I keep a folder of your emails to revisit on the hard days. That folder got some attention while we were deep in the redesign.

I hope you feel the love we’ve put into the new website and Trail Mix. I hope you find a story to settle into, an idea worth trying, or a reason to head outside with someone you love.

And this Thanksgiving, I hope there’s room for a little of whatever makes you feel most at home. I know I’ll be grateful for mine.

See you out there. 🔥

Kayt

A little more about the person tending this fire...

I'm Kayt, founder of Field Trip. I started this whole adventure because I believe the outdoors has a remarkable way of connecting us, not just to nature, but to each other.

I'm awfully glad you found your way here.

While I may do most of the talking in Campfire Chat, I'd love to hear what's on your mind, too. Send me a note at kayt@explorefieldtrip.com. I read every email.