The things that hold us steady during a loud season, and the small rituals that help you feel connected.

This week ushers in “The Holidays”, the time of year that chaos and connection reign supreme.

Thanksgiving is complicated, especially for Native communities, and the usual “we’re grateful for…” story never feels like the whole picture. So this year, we decided to do something that felt more honest. We reached out to friends and asked them to tell us about the moments they return to every year – the ones that ground them in place and bring them closer to the people they love.

What we got back were thoughtful, funny, personal reflections about annual trips to Montana, long, slow days on the land, family meals that turn into snowy drives in national forests, and backcountry adventures that built decade-long friendships. Bill and Anders also talk a bit about their own tradition, the yearly gathering that shaped their friendship and eventually helped spark this podcast.

We hope you enjoy these stories as much as we did. They made us think about the things that hold us steady during a loud season, and what we actually want to carry forward. What places pull you back, the small rituals that help you feel connected. That’s what this episode is about.

Highlights from the show:

Seasonal meaning beyond Thanksgiving
A look at why we chose to step away from the traditional Thanksgiving narrative and focus instead on real moments of connection.

How a season of celebrations brings people back to grounding rituals
Reflections on the stretch of late fall and winter when many reconnect with old habits, shared meals, and familiar places.

Returning to the places that shaped us
Kevin Colburn talks about going back to Montana every year, a place he lived for years and still feels connected to. He shares how those trips anchor him and his daughter, and how paddling gives him the clearest language for understanding the natural world.

Finding steadiness in seasonal practices
Jessy Stevenson reflects on how time on the land helps her stay grounded and how her Blackfeet family traditions shape the way she moves through the seasons. She talks about gathering cottonwood buds for a sitsuk sim salve, along with keeping a 200-year-old sourdough starter alive as a way to give back.

Friendship built on shared outdoor experiences
Katie, Cat, and Theresa talk about the decade of backcountry trips that shaped their friendship. They meet up from all over the country, head into the woods, and slip right back into the kind of connection that only shows up when you’re tired, dirty, and sharing a tent with people you trust. Over the years, they’ve pushed through hard moments, laughed through the easy ones, and built a bond strong enough to carry across the distance between them.

A New Year’s Day hike that became a community ritual
Lynn Cameron shares how a simple New Year’s Day hike with friends slowly turned into something much bigger. What started as quiet walks with naturalists who taught her the trees and the landscape eventually grew into an open invitation for anyone who wanted to start the year on public lands. Over time, the same route, the same overlook, and the same sense of purpose turned this annual hike into a gathering that connects people to the places she works so hard to protect.

Family gatherings and time outdoors
Andre Sanchez talks about how his family’s fall gatherings always circle back to food, shared dishes, and being together. Once everyone is in town, they usually end up heading outside too, whether that means a snowy day in the mountains, a drive through the forest, or a stroll in Yosemite Valley. For him, those moments blend the warmth of home with the grounding feeling of being out in open space.

Bill and Anders’ annual wilderness trip
We also share a bit about our own July tradition, a long-running gathering of wilderness friends who meet in southwest Montana every year. It’s part therapy session, part reunion, and part excuse to roam new patches of public land. The conversations get deep, the jokes get ridiculous, and the annoyances pile up in the best of ways. Those days shaped our friendship and, honestly, played a big role in how this podcast came to be.

Links & Resources:

Organizations

• American Whitewater
  Kevin Colburn serves as stewardship director.
• The Wilderness Society
  Referenced through Jessie Stevenson’s work in Montana.
• Friends of Shenandoah Mountain
  Lynn Cameron’s advocacy group.
• Cal Wild
  Andre Sanchez works on community engagement and policy.

Places

• Swan Valley, Montana
  Central to Jessie’s connection to hunting and home.
• Braley Pond, George Washington National Forest 
  The starting point for Lynn’s annual New Year’s hike.
• Ramsay’s Draft Wilderness 
  A focus area of Lynn’s advocacy and the setting for many group hikes.
• Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Parkway
  Landmarks visible from the overlook on Lynn’s New Year’s Day route.
• Horse Prairie, Southwest Montana
  Home base for Bill and Anders’ annual wilderness gathering.
• Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest
  Where their group returns each year.
• Tendoy Mountains and Gravellies (Montana) 
  Places Bill and Anders visit during their annual trip.
• Yosemite Valley
  A place Andre’s family sometimes visits during fall gatherings.

The Wild Idea is independently produced by Wild Idea Media. If you believe conversations like this matter, you can help us keep them going by subscribing, leaving a review, sharing the episode, or signing up for our newsletter at thewildidea.com. Together, we can protect what connects us.