A seagull at the beach on the south fork of Long Island
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moosilauke ravine lodge

The Moosilauke Ravine Lodge (or "Lodj") is loved by Dartmouth students past and present for two main reasons:

1. Being the culminating part of their First-Year Trips—the pre-orientation camping trip incoming Dartmouth students attend

2. Providing free multi-course dinners throughout the spring, summer, and fall seasons

Until this summer, I had never gone to the Lodj for dinner. Over my sophomore summer, my older brother came to visit Dartmouth for the first time, so my roommates and I thought it would be fitting to make the trek north to show him a unique Dartmouth tradition. 

Nikki Shin, Carolina Harr, Alison Blake, Trudy Silver, Elijah Halsey, and Maddie Dubrinsky posing outside the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge
My friends and my brother exploring outside of the Lodj before dinner!

To eat at the Lodj, we had to call in advance to make a reservation. You do not need to be a Dartmouth student to make a reservation, so if you are ever in the area, I recommend trying it out; it is free for all Dartmouth students, and any other visitors can pay to eat at the Lodj. After we made our reservation, we drove around an hour north to get to the Lodj. When we arrived, we discovered that our friend Trudy was coincidentally getting Lodj dinner with her parents—who were visiting her!

view outside moosilauke

We walked around and looked at the other cabins at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, showed my brother the "leech field" where all of the First-Year Trip dances occur, and took some pictures!

Going down to the leech field
Carolina going down to the field!

We then ate a delicious 5-course dinner featuring a salad, garlic knots, lentil soup, chicken orzo, and tiramisu! The meal was prepared by Lodj Croo, who are Dartmouth students who live and work at the Lodj for an off-term!

I think the progression of our dinner is best represented by a series of photos during each course. Enjoy!

Course 1: Salad 

Unfortunately, due to our hunger after the drive to Moosilauke, we have no photos of the salad portion of our meal.

Course 2: Lentil Soup

Lentil soup
Amazing soup. The soup got passed down the table one by one, hence my brother Eli's intense concentration.

Course 3: Garlic Knots

Garlic Knots
The garlic knots were amazing—warm and buttery! We even had extra at our table so we could each have two. NOTE: Despite Eli's sad glance, he did eat a garlic knot.

Course 4: Chicken Orzo

chicken orzo
This photo of me and Alison was captured post-chicken orzo consumption. The chicken was delicious and we all appreciated the sun-dried tomatoes.
Laughing
During this course, the Lodj croo introduced themselves and told stories about their experience working in the Lodj. I will not spoil what unfolded at this part of dinner, but I hope my friends and brother's reactions speak for themselves.

Course 5: Tirmasu

tirmasu
Last course, best course? The tiramisu for dessert was delicious. Look how excited Carolina, Eli, and Maddie were about their dessert!

I loved my time at the Lodj and hope to return soon before the Lodj closes for the season! Hopefully, next time I go to Moosilauke, I'll see a moose, as fellow People Places Pines blogger Memo did

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