(And Why You Should Do Whatever You Want Too)
Category: Stories
Slug: hawaiian-shirt-campfire
The first time I showed up to a campsite in a Hawaiian shirt, someone laughed.
Not meanly. Just surprised. Like I’d broken some unspoken dress code that said outdoor people wear earth tones and performance fabrics and look vaguely prepared for survival.
I wore it anyway. I’ve worn one to every campfire since.
Here’s the thing about the outdoors that nobody tells you upfront: there’s no committee. No one is issuing permits for the right way to enjoy a lake, a forest, a fire at dusk. The mountains don’t care what you’re wearing. The water doesn’t check your gear list. The birds are not judging your camp chair.
You get to decide what your outdoor life looks like. Fully and completely.
The Outdoor Person You Actually Are
For a long time I think a lot of us have been living someone else’s version of what “being outdoorsy” means. The rugged hiker. The minimalist backcountry type. The person who knows the Latin names of plants and wakes up at 5am with enthusiasm.
That’s a valid outdoor person. It’s just not the only one.
There’s also the person who sets up a beautiful campsite and spends the afternoon floating on a lake. The person who brings a proper cooler and makes cocktails at golden hour. The person who strings lights everywhere because why wouldn’t you. The person who paddles out in the morning and reads in a hammock in the afternoon and considers that a perfect day.
That’s also a valid outdoor person. That’s my kind of outdoor person.
What Actually Matters Outside
I’ve spent time in a lot of places now, lakes and rivers and coastlines and forests, and the common thread in every great trip isn’t the gear or the location or the weather.
It’s the quality of presence.
Being actually there. Not managing discomfort or wishing you were somewhere with a real bed. Just in it, watching the light change, listening to the water, staying up too late because the fire is still going and the conversation is good and there’s nowhere you need to be.
That presence is easier when you’re comfortable. When the setup is good. When you brought the right things and didn’t forget the coffee and the chair is actually comfortable enough to sit in for three hours.
Comfort isn’t the enemy of the outdoors. It’s the thing that lets you stay long enough to actually feel it.
So Here We Are
The Wry Wolf is my ongoing love letter to the outdoors done my way. Hawaiian shirts and all.
You’ll find gear I actually use, setups I actually love, and an honest take on what makes time outside feel like the best possible use of a day. No survival skills required. No performance of ruggedness. Just good people, good places, and the occasional very good cocktail by the fire.
Come as you are. Wear what you want.
The campfire’s already going.
See what’s in my kit at The Wolf’s Kit.