Explore Magazine Fall 2025

Last summer, I climbed Sky Pilot Mountain, near Squamish, British Columbia. As a full day adventure, which involved a steep forested trail, glacier travel and even Class 4 and 5 scrambling—it was a big challenge. (You can read about it at explore-mag.com.) At the time, it had been my toughest day-hike since my kids were born, five years earlier. I credit a lot of shorter hikes, cycling, SUPing and dog walking to my ability to complete the trek. But I was absolutely gassed after that day. In fact, I likely failed to enjoy certain parts as much as I could have—I was focusing more on putting one foot in front of the other. So, when the chance to trek in Patagonian Chile came up, a few months later, I knew…

When most people think of Hamilton, Ontario, the first things that come to mind are usually smokestacks and steel. Once the industrial heartbeat of Canada, Hamilton earned nicknames like “Steel City” and “The Hammer” for its gritty reputation and working-class roots. But look a little closer, and you’ll find a city that’s far more dynamic than its tough exterior suggests. Today, Hamilton is a place where creativity thrives and community runs deep. My hometown is home to bustling farmers’ markets, intimate concert venues and galleries tucked into old factory buildings. It’s the kind of city where baristas know your order, local art lines the walls of busy breweries and neighbours turn sidewalks into front-porch gatherings. But perhaps Hamilton’s most surprising quality lies just beyond those vibrant streets: more than 100…

In the past few years, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—better known as PFAS—have gone from obscurity to mainstream discourse in the outdoor industry. Known colloquially as “forever chemicals,” PFAS has been listed as a “chemical of concern” by Health Canada, and many regions, particularly countries in the European Union and U.S. states like California, are quickly moving towards partial or outright bans on their usage. The roughly 5,000 known chemical compounds that utilize PFAS are remarkably effective at resisting water, stains, grease and oil. As such, PFAS has long been a key ingredient in the durable water repellent (DWR) coatings found on much of our outdoor gear. In short, it’s been the stuff that made water bead off your new jacket. But PFAS is bad for humans and the environment, with…

Hi, I’m Nicole, an outdoor enthusiast, self-proclaimed hermit, amateur blacksmith and woodworker and author of Axe in Hand. But some folks know me better as “Hey! Aren’t you that girl who chops wood on social media?” Yep, that’s me. I stumbled upon woodchopping and outdoor niches on social media and amassed over five million followers across my channels. It’s been a wild journey, and one that I’m learning more about every day. I volunteer with a community woodchopping group in my small Southern Gulf Island town in British Columbia. We source local trees, buck and chop them into firewood, sell that firewood to community members and donate the revenue back into local community initiatives. This group is where a lot of my firewood and woodchopping knowledge comes from as well…

I am generally a canoeist by heart. I perceive a backpacking trail to be one of the longest portages ever created. That said, however, I truly enjoy walking in the woods. There is something elemental about it, especially in the fall. So, every autumn season, I pull out my backcountry hiking gear and figure out how I can make my pack just a little bit lighter. I go beyond my earlier days of packing silly, useless items, such as a latrine shovel or a separate wardrobe for each day. I’ve also left all that ultralight weirdness behind. No longer do I remove the cardboard roll from the centre of the toilet paper, cut off the end of my toothbrush or trim down the edges of my topographic maps. I’m somewhere…

Not-So-Core THE TREND: We’ve all seen that the outdoors are getting busier, but at the same time, the number of people who consider themselves a core or regular participant in one activity continues to fall. So does the need for specialized apparel. In their place, versatile threads are trending, especially if they look casual enough to wear anywhere. THE GEAR: The Vuori Aspen Shirt Jacket is made from Polartec’s Wind Pro, a super tightly weaved fleece fabric. It has a button-down shirt style, but with a super soft and cozy technical fabric that’s wind-resistant, breathable and hydrophobic. It kept us toasty on a chilly hike and looked sharp when we stopped at a pub on the way home. $170; vuoriclothing.ca Go Faster Features THE TREND: Light and fast has been…