I'm Kalina, a '27 from Sofia, Bulgaria. I love books (I love reading and writing them), and I particularly love fantasy (i.e., I'm an expert on Middle Earth and Hogwarts studies). I'm equally fascinated by the human brain and storytelling, and I often think about the importance of stories when trying to understand the human mind. I also love hiking, bird-watching, climbing, and em dashes.
"Any plans for Green Key?" a friend asked me on Friday.
"Yes," I said. "I'm going on an eight-mile hike this Saturday!"
[Awkward pause.]
Hiking in the White Mountains during Green Key is not on top of most people's list for the weekend. Green Key is a weekend of live music and lots of events, where you pull out of the closet your cutest summer outfit and have fun with friends. Few people on campus hear Green Key and think, "Oh, let me take out my hiking boots!" So, quite rightfully my friend gave me a concerned side-ways glance.
"Sure…" he nodded. "As they say, 'Party hard, hike hard,' eh?"
Exactly!
Well, I don't know how hard I partied, but Levi, Owen, and I definitely hiked hard. At some point, though, it seemed like we wouldn't hike at all.
Friday night I saw Levi, who organized the hike in the White Mountains, at the Green Key concert. Levi told me that the trip might be canceled–almost nobody had shown interest in it. So when I went to bed that Friday night, I didn't plan to wake up early the next day. It seemed like my Green Key weekend was going to be appropriately Green Key. No hiking.
And then Saturday morning at ten o'clock–when we were supposed to leave campus and when I was still snoozing in bed–I received a phone call.
"Hi, Kalina, this is Levi…"
It turned out the hike wasn't canceled, and I was very, very late! (Thankfully, Levi is the best trip-leader you can find, and he patiently waited for me to pack my stuff.)
Owen, Levi, and I and the view from Mount Kinsman
We hiked up to Lonesome Lake in the White Mountains, then up through the woods to Mount Kinsman, and back to Lonesome Lake via a trail running across the Cannonballs. The hike was eight miles long, with somewhat cloudy views but many pretty brooks. We heard black-throated warblers and red-breasted nuthatches, and we believe we saw a baby squirrel (only that we have no visual evidence for all that…). After we got back to the car, we went on a secondary adventure concerning a peanut-butter doughnut and a carwash. (Don't ask.)
This winter, I'm studying abroad in Toulouse, immersing myself in French language, literature, art, and culture through place-based classes, city explorations, and firsthand experiences across southern France.
Welcome back to Open Doors—your inside look at life in the Woods! This week, Gabe Brigham '26, a psychology and sociology double major, showed me around his dorm room, where we discussed Dartmouth residence halls, classes, and campus life.
