The Siskiyou Hiker aims to expand the diversity and number of voices in our communications by publishing submissions from the community in the form of interest pieces, itineraries and trip reports, letters to the editor, and opinion pieces.
The focus
We endeavor to celebrate the good news coming out of our public land and also shine light on the realities of neglected trails, unnecessary closures, loss of facilities, reductions of services, and public safety issues that have eroded the public lands experience for the communities we serve. We do not often cover environmental news, litigation, or public lands policy regarding ecology or commercial resource production, but may do so from time to time.
Submission guidelines
We edit stories for grammar, clarity and length. From time to time, we may have a question before publishing a piece. We will not necessarily notify the author before publishing their interest piece, letter or op-ed. The Siskiyou Hiker is committed to sharing the truth and will publish corrections when mistakes are made. Letters must include the writer's full name, city, state, phone number and email address for verification. The writer's full name, city and state will be published.
Send your submissions to info@siskiyoumountainclub.org.
Interest pieces, itineraries, and trip reports
Interest pieces are generally less than 1,000 words. Experts or stakeholders covering an in-depth topic or writers who have longitudinal insight on a specific landscape or public lands issue could submit longer pieces. We may break a longer piece up into multiple parts to be published in sequence or as a set.
Topics could include first-hand stories from your outings on public lands, family stories, camp recipes, gear reviews, and other useful content for our readers. We also invite naturalists and ecologists to highlight more about the wonders of our region in interest pieces.
Anyone can submit a trip report at our Explore Site and we publish the vast majority of submissions. Sometimes those trip reports take a longer form, as in this two-night itinerary across the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest by Bryan Duggan that we purposed into a blog post as well. Feel free to submit trip reports of any length, but it is rare we publish an itinerary that is more than 1,000 words.
Letters to the editor
Less than 300 words, letters to the editor express views in response to a topic or article recently covered in the Hiker.
Op-eds
An op-ed is less than 800 words and expresses the qualified opinion of the author on a public lands issue. These should focus on kitchen table issues that affect everyday public lands users and avoid issues around environmental law/policy or commercial resource production. We welcome naturalists and ecologists to explore the wonders of our region in an interest piece.
