Hey!! I'm Eloise and this is my blog! I'm a '28 from New Holland, Pennsylvania. I love to read and write in my free time and I'm so excited to get involved in clubs at Dartmouth. I love exploring the outdoors and I can't wait to go on more trips with the Dartmouth Outing Club. I hope you enjoy my blog!
During orientation week, first-year students have the opportunity to go on First-Year Trips (FYT). These trips are a way to explore New Hampshire's nature, meet new people, and get introduced to Dartmouth College.
I'll be honest: I did not initially want to go on first-year trips when I found out about them. The idea of living in the woods for four days with people I just met felt out of my comfort zone, but I still signed up for one, and I am so happy I did!
For one, I am so happy I met my trippees (the other '28s on the trip with me) and our TLs (our trip leaders). They are some of the best people I've met and I am still so close with them!
Another reason I loved my trip was that we got to explore the Second College Grant, which is one of the most incredible and beautiful places I've ever been to.
The Second College Grant is land Dartmouth College owns, which is about 3 hours north of Hanover. It's closer to Canada than to campus! The Grant is nearly 27,000 acres and is home to so many trees, wildlife, and rivers.
The Grant has a total of 11 cabins open to the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) and to Dartmouth students and alumni. For our trip, we stayed in Johnson Brook Cabin; this cabin was a great spot to stargaze at night and hike to the brook during the day.
This sign is pointing to our cabin on the Grant!
On our second day there, we did just that and hiked to the brook. It was beautiful! Some of my trippees went down to the rocks and explored the water, while the rest of us sat on the bridge above the river and admired New Hampshire's nature. It was so calming!
Johnson Brook!!
After our trip to the brook, Grant Croo (a team of upper-level students in charge of supervising the first-year trips in the Grant) drove us to another cabin. This one had a volleyball net, and we competed against the other trip groups there.
From there, we drove to "Hellgate," a lake in the Grant; to get there, we had to cross a rope bridge—constructed by Dartmouth engineers. At the lake, we went swimming and skipped rocks, even though the water was freezing!
Here's a picture of Hellgate!
Throughout these adventures in the Grant, I was taken aback by the beauty of New Hampshire. The trees were just starting to change colors, and the sky was full of stars at night! I never knew nature could be so amazing!
The best part of the Grant is it's open to all Dartmouth students and alumni, so I can go again whenever I want, and I definitely will!
Despite Dartmouth being on the periphery of the broader Northeast region, its access to major transportation hubs makes travel stress-free. But, how can students without a car see the rest of New England?
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