for the Siskiyou Hiker
by Gabriel Howe, Executive Director
20 APRIL 2023 | ASHLAND, OR. — We’re sharing a lineup of spring events, starting this Saturday, but first a little spotlight on staff member Alex Relph as we celebrate a year back on the team with us as Stewardship Coordinator.
At age 16, Relph decided she wanted to spend a night outside, alone. So she drove up into the mountains of Southern California, laid down a bedroll, and slept cold, but had a formative experience that sparked a passion for the outdoors and backpacking.
She went on to join our Wilderness Corps in 2014, serving on an intern crew that made news when they broke through the Trans-Kalmiopsis Route and built the Pilot Rock Trail. Relph took a hiatus and returned in 2016 as a crew leader.
Relph went on to backpack the Colorado Trail, travel internationally, and found herself climbing trees and working as a professional arborist.
Eventually, she returned to Rogue Community College and in 2022 she applied for a stewardship coordinator position we advertised.
For me it was a no-brainer. At first, I thought I would hire someone responsible for basically getting people to and from trailheads. But when Relph applied, I expanded the position to include more hands-on coordination with interns and with the community.
In the last year, Relph has offered critical support for all of our field programs and has been responsible for providing our interns with an exemplary onboarding and activities program. There’s not a lot of people who can pickup a chainsaw and cut logs on the trail one week, and onboard interns the next. She’s engaged dozens of volunteers on tasks from putting up signboards to hiking food into hungry interns.
Driven by passion, she’s also been the brains and muscle behind our backpackers academy courses.
“You don’t have to be hardcore or crazy to do this,” she says.”It’s just about getting outside and clearing your head for a night or two.”
If you are interested in hauling food into interns or helping out, or have questions about our trips and events, email alex@siskiyoumountainclub.org and check out our calendar.
