Appalachia Journal
A tradition of inspired writing since 1876
Published continuously since 1876, Appalachia is America’s longest-running journal of mountaineering and conservation. The journal comes out twice a year, on June 15 (Summer/Fall) and December 15 (Winter/Spring).
Current issue
Appalachia Summer/Fall 2020 Issue: Unusual Pioneers in Peru, Nepal, and on the Appalachian Trail
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In This Issue of Appalachia
The Disappearing Rainbow Mountain: Pilgrims flock to a magical peak in Peru that a melting glacier revealed four years ago – Lisa Ballard
Nepal’s Most Important Non-Climber: Elizabeth Hawley’s unique journalistic pilgrimage – Billi Bierling
The Class of ’51: Back when few knew about the Appalachian Trail, four men pioneered thru-hiking – Mills Kelly
The World of Christina: Reflections on the journey home – Judy Benson
Braiding, Widening, and Downslope Creep: Trying to restore overly loved trails below Mount Washington – Laura Waterman
Risk and Huntington: What is it that drew him to this mountain? – Michael Levy
Trailsplaining: In the Sierras, four women disprove unsolicited doubts – Dianne Fallon
Exploring the Ancient Old North Trail: A 13,000-year-old route along the Rocky Mountain Front – Lisa Ballard
Given to the Winds: A friendship strengthens on Doubletop – David Heald
Holding Back: Sometimes, advice is not required – Elissa Ely
A 15-Year-Old Sets Out Alone for the Tetons: Part 1 of a climber’s memoir – Steven Jervis
In Every Issue
Poems
By Russ Capaldi, Robin Chapman, Marcyn Del Clements, Chris Hoffman, John Smelcer, Wally Swist, and Parker TowleAccidents
Analysis of incidents from the White Mountains of New Hampshire and occasionally elsewhere, by Sandy StottAlpina
A review of international mountaineering expeditions in the greater rangesNews and Notes
Updates and newsworthy stories on mountaineering and conservation in the Northeast and beyondResearch
Reports about field scienceBooks and Media
Reviews of books, maps, and other mediaAbout Appalachia
Published continuously since 1876, Appalachia is America’s longest-running journal of mountaineering and conservation. Each issue delivers inspired writing on mountain exploration, ecology, and conservation; news about international mountaineering expeditions; analysis of northeastern mountaineering accidents; poems by leading poets such as Robin Chapman, Wally Swist, and Mary Oliver; and much more.
The journal appears twice a year, on June 15 (Summer/Fall) and December 15 (Winter/Spring).
You can follow Appalachia on Twitter at @AppalachiaJourn.
About Appalachia‘s Editor
Christine Woodside, a writer and editor based in the lower Connecticut River Valley, has served as editor-in-chief of Appalachia since 2006. She writes about backcountry adventure, environmental change and how people cope with it, and American history. Chris welcomes letters and feedback from readers, and can be reached at christine.woodside@gmail.com. Learn more about Chris at chriswoodside.com.
Committee on Appalachia
Editor-in-Chief/Chair
Alpina Editor
Steven Jervis
Alpina Assistant Editor
Michael Levy
Poetry Editor
Parkman Howe
Book Review Editor
Steve Fagin
News and Notes Editor
Sally Manikian
Accidents Editor
Sandy Stott
Photography Editor
Skip Weisenburger
Contributing Editors
Lucille Stott, Douglass P. Teschner
At-Large
Catherine Buni, Jeff Fair, Robert Goeke, Rebecca Oreskes, Michael Wejchert
AMC Books
Production Manager
Abigail Coyle
Designer
Eric Edstam
Copyeditor
Robin Gold
Typesetter
Tim Holtz
Proofreader
Kenneth Krause
Indexer
Ezra Freeman
Submission Guidelines
Appalachia welcomes narrative, historical, and science essays on the following topics: mountain, wilderness, and backcountry adventure; technical climbing; canoeing and kayaking; nature and climate change; and land ethics. We work far ahead and publish twice a year. We consider it our mission to encourage and work with new writers, as well as seasoned ones. The editor-in-chief solicits most lead feature stories several months ahead.
Deadlines
Story proposals should reach the editor-in-chief eight months ahead of publication: April 1 for December publication, October 1 for June publication.
Manuscripts sent on speculation may arrive as late as seven months ahead of publication: May 1 for December publication, November 1 for June publication.
Letters to the editor, suggestions for obituaries in our “In Memoriam” section, and short items for our “News and Notes” section may arrive five months ahead: July 1 for December publication, January 1 for June publication.
Format
Our philosophy is that articles should be as long as they should be. Most articles run between 1,000 and 3,000 words. Some measure as short at 500 words, and our longest are 5,000. Please double-space your document, use Times New Roman 12-point font, and send submissions electronically, if possible.
Artwork
Photographs or drawings accompany most of our articles and are usually provided by the authors. We also publish a limited number of standalone photos that evoke the mountains, and we welcome high-quality freelance submissions.
Poetry
Original poems about the above topics are also welcome. Shorter poems are preferred. Only eight poems are published per issue, which makes this the most competitive section of the journal; on average, one in 50 submissions is accepted. Send poems to the attention of Parkman Howe via the editor-in-chief.
Editing
All work is subject to editing. We make every effort to work cooperatively with authors in the early stages of production and to explain editing decisions. Deadlines usually make last-minute communication with authors impossible.
Submissions
E-mail story ideas, speculative material, and poems to Christine Woodside, editor-in-chief, at christine.woodside@gmail.com. You can also send her postal mail c/o the Appalachian Mountain Club, 10 City Square, Boston, MA 02129. Mailed material can be returned upon request if you include a postage-paid envelope.
Payment
We have a very limited budget and cannot pay for most unsolicited material. Authors receive two contributor copies.
Online
Authors retain the rights to their work, although Appalachia reserves the right to publish stories or excerpts online indefinitely.