Welcome to the woods! My name is Natalie and I'm from California (3035 miles away from Dartmouth)! I'm a political science and crossword puzzle nerd who's excited to dive into the millions of activities we have on campus. I'm a Politics, Philosophy, and Economics major at Dartmouth, and am considering both a History and Human-Centered Design minor. I'm also the President of the Parliamentary Debate team! Go Big Green!
Welcome to the (other) woods: My trip to the Ravine Lodge!
It's officially week 7! At Dartmouth, that means we're really in the thick of things here — finishing up our last midterms, starting some final projects, and enjoying the last days of fall as we transition into winter — rumor has it we may see some snow this week… BRRR!
To celebrate the end of week six, my friends and I made a reservation at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, which is a mountain lodge and set of cabins maintained by the college. It's entirely free for Dartmouth undergrads to eat and stay at the lodge… which is honestly crazy. Moosilauke is one of the nicest lodges I've ever been in… and they served us a 5-course dinner… and it was free. Though Dartmouth is full of unique opportunities, this one blew me away — how lucky are we to have access to the lodge and its perks!
Dinner is often vegetarian at Moosilauke, and the food knocked our socks off — we had salad, house-baked garlic naan, biryani-stuffed squash, spiced chickpeas, and an apple-gingerbread cake for dessert. Dining hall food at Dartmouth is excellent, don't get me wrong, but it's so nice to switch it up every once in a while — and this food was truly amazing.
While we just went to the lodge for dinner — the van picked us up from campus at 5 and dropped us off at 9 — it's also totally free to stay overnight! I've heard you can make fires and roast marshmallows if you stay the night, AND you get to eat breakfast and go hiking in the morning… I mean, c'mon!
The lodge has the best retro vibes, and while we mainly hung out in the dining room, it was so cool to walk around and check out all the decor.
Moosilauke was an awesome place to head on a Friday night to eat, unwind, and enjoy the night with my friends.
While many people might associate cold, long, snowy winters with hardship, I've found that winter at Dartmouth is full of potential to be just as fun as other seasons.
In just a month, I went from a complete beginner to a proficient skier, smoothly making my way down the green and blue runs at Dartmouth Skiway. Read about my journey and how I made such rapid progress!
