Hey all! So excited to see you here. My name is Sydney and I'm a '24 studying Economics and Government from Southern California. I've also lived abroad in Spain, Gibraltar, and the Philippines, so Hanover and the East Coast are a whole new world to me! I love to scuba dive, bike, travel, and listen to anything by Kasey Musgraves or The Weeknd. Besides blogging, I am involved in the news section of The Dartmouth, Women in Business, club water polo, and the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact.
Hey blog, I'm not in California anymore! One of the best parts of living in Hanover is the opportunity to immerse yourself in the Upper Valley's natural beauty. Visiting Gile Mountain is a magical 75-minute escape from campus into the breathtaking wilderness of Norwich, Vermont. If you visit during a three-week window, you can experience the turning of the trees – a brief transitionary period where the lush green leaves erupt into vibrant warm hues before tumbling down for the winter.
This week, I collaborated with a fellow '24 blogger Griselda on a news article for The Dartmouth about fall leaf peeping. On Friday, we grabbed lunch outside FoCo (the main dining hall) together to celebrate the publication of our first ever college article. While talking, Griselda gushed all about her visit to Gile through an electric bike tour organized through the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC), so it seemed especially fitting that I make the trip to see the peak foliage leaves for myself! That same day after classes, four friends and I rented a Zipcar to celebrate the completion of some midterms and a successful end to a productive yet hectic Week 4. Windows down and indie rock music blasting, we crossed over the New Hampshire border and ventured deeper and deeper into the state of Vermont. As the roads narrowed, the trees packed closer together and the homes grew further apart. After parking the Zipcar, we started trekking on a 25-minute uphill stone step journey to the mountaintop until we finally encountered a colossal fire tower.
My friends and I climbed the 90-step fire tower to reach the stunning observation deck.
Other groups ahead of us were socially distanced as they also waited for their own turns to climb the tower. When our turn came, we climbed flight after flight of stairs – high above the treetops until we made it to the stunning observation deck. As luck would have it, we arrived at the top just as the sun began to set over the blanket of red, orange, and yellow trees. The golden hour created the perfect lighting effect that illuminated the trees' vibrant colors, making each leaf pop one shade at a time. With no clouds in the sky, you could see miles upon miles in any direction. One of my friends even pointed out that we could spot Dartmouth from the very top!
At a 413-foot elevation, I felt so at peace with myself, the dense nature before me, and my journey at Dartmouth thus far. I'm so glad I was able to summit the fire tower before the crisp autumn leaves tumble from the sky. Climbing Gile at peak foliage definitely tops my list of most exhilarating ways possible to kick off the weekend. I can't believe the term is nearly halfway over, so stay tuned for more blogging adventures!
And the sun sets on another action-packed week at Dartmouth!
Although Dartmouth's campus can seem remote at times, there are actually lots of fun places to explore nearby! Read all about my day trip to Burlington here!
With the weather slowly turning towards spring and midterms (mostly) over, my friends and I decided to take a little trip down to the stream for some swimming.
We're just past the halfway point for spring term! For this blog post, I wanted to write about my classes because 1) I'm absolutely loving them and 2) I think they are reflective of some standout strengths of the Dartmouth curriculum.
For most of my time at Dartmouth, I've been lucky enough to live on campus. Though that's all changed now that I've moved off campus to West Lebanon (or West Leb) and am now living with two graduate students.
Thinking back, this winter has been a whirlwind. I wanted to use this final blog post as an opportunity to organize my thoughts and share some reflections as I move into my final term!
