Hey! I'm Nuna and I'm a '28 from Accra, Ghana. I plan on studying Biology at Dartmouth but I'm definitely on the lookout for any other interesting areas of study. When I'm not in class (and not catching up on sleep), I'm reading, cooking or winning card games with my friends (especially Uno and Hearts!). I plan on getting involved with a lot of organizations on campus, so come along and join me for the ride!
Back to the Beginning: My First Year Trip Experience
I have been at Dartmouth for a lifetime now (6 weeks) and I think I'm finally getting the hang of everything. I am no longer a stranger to college midterms, labs, or late night trips to the dining hall. As I reflect on this lifetime, I often reminisce about my amazing First Year Trip.
First Year Trips are organized by the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC), the oldest and largest collegiate outing club in the US. Trips are a way for first-years to get to know each other and the outdoors in a new and fun environment. Each trip has a main activity, and everyone has a say in their preferred trip. While you may not get your first choice trip (I certainly didn't), your interests are definitely taken into consideration so you won't end up doing strenuous hiking if you hate hiking. In my case, I got Cabin Camping & Nature Photography. Although it was my second choice, it was the experience of a lifetime, and I wouldn't have traded it for the world. Here's how it went!
Day 1: Cabin & Cold Water
Great Bear III, our cabin. It is located at the foot of Mount Moosilauke, and it's super warm and cozy! Fun fact: Great Bear III was preceded by Great Bear I and II which burnt down, and we're very proud to report that we didn't cause Great Bear IV!
After being dropped off by the bus, we hiked for about ten minutes. The cabin was apparently a third of a mile away, but it felt like much more to me. I blame that on my super heavy duffel bag though—the moral of this story is that packing lightly is a must! We arrived at our beautiful cabin,—named Great Bear III— which was built by Dartmouth alums. After putting our stuff down, we started off with one of the best card games to bond with: Uno! Things got tense, but in the end I won (are you surprised?). We decided to take a quick hike to a nearby pond. On the way, we created a music playlist that I still listen to sometimes. The pond itself was so scenic, and we took a ton of pictures. Despite packing swim trunks, I decided the water was way too cold for me to get in (you may have seen this water in one of my previous posts). I immediately proceeded to fall off a rock into said water. How was it, you ask? It was cold. Thanks for asking. After I dried off in the sun, we hiked back, made a nice hot dinner together and played some more games before we went to bed.
A hot mac and cheese dinner to end the day! Big shoutout to my trip leader Aubrey for ensuring our safety while we cooked. She also bravely used the spondonicle (the metal thing that's gripping the pot) to hold hot things.
Day 2: Blueberry Mountain & Hearts
The view from the top of Blueberry Mountain. Photo credit to my friend Joel, who's a supremely talented photographer!
We woke up bright and early at 11:30 am. After a quick breakfast, we unanimously decided to go on a hike. This is the best part of trips: everything's up to you. You decide what you want to do, when you want to do it. Anyway, we decided to hike up Blueberry Mountain. To our collective surprise, there were wild blueberry bushes on the trail, and they were delicious. There were so many cool mosses on the trail, and the views were stunning. It was completely chill, and I had so much fun even though I'm usually averse to hiking. On the hike, we all had fun getting to know each other, talking about music tastes, playing games and sharing stories about high school. We even met a couple who were on their way down the mountain, with their adorable dog! After the hike, we headed back to the cabin, had dinner and then did what we did best: card games. Roughly half of us played Slap, but I played Hearts. It took us a while to figure out the rules, but after we did, it was such an entertaining game. One of my trip leaders, who conveniently didn't know the rules at the beginning, somehow managed to Shoot the Moon. If you know Hearts, you know this isn't a rookie move. Coincidence, don't you think? Before heading to bed, we lay outside and stargazed. The sky was a bit cloudy but it was fun nonetheless!
Meet Ursa, the friendliest dog ever! We met her on the way up Blueberry Mountain, as her owners were coming down from the mountain.
Day 3 & 4: Moosilauke & The End
The field where we frolicked, sunbathed, skipped and rolled until the bus arrived to pick us up.
On the third day, we headed to Moosilauke Lodge. After saying goodbye to Great Bear III, we walked to the pickup spot, where we only waited a couple of hours for the bus. In that time, we played music, rolled down hills and sunbathed in a field. We arrived at Moosilauke and met up with people from the other trips. Our trip helped out with dinner, and I personally think it was the best part of the meal. Here's unfortunately where things get tough, because after dinner I got nauseous and missed the rest of the evening. What I do know is that some of my trippees woke up at 3am to go for a hike on Moosilauke Mountain. When I woke up the next day, we had some bonding activities, shared stories from other trips and had conversations with trip leaders and Lodj Croo (the upperclassmen who maintained the Moosilauke Lodge, made us dinner and handled the logistical side of trips). It was a great way to end an amazing trip, and we finally headed on the bus to take us back to campus.
Our final picture in Great Bear III. Fun fact: I had to put this camera on a timer and sprint up the ladder!
You can probably see why I think the First Year Trip was the best part of orientation. I met some of my closest friends, had fun hiking and discovered that I should play more card games because winning is fun. So much happened that I left so much out of this story! It was so much fun that I think I might even sign up to be a trip leader next year. We're also allowed to rent cabins and go with friends, so I'm definitely planning on doing that soon. Altogether, my First Year Trip was truly an unforgettable experience!
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