Taoheng (Tao) Chen
You are here
Apples and Maples with POCO
The People of Color Outdoor is a sub-club of the Dartmouth Outing Club, the nation's oldest collegiate outing club. After getting acquainted with the club, I decided to spend my Sunday with them Apple-picking in the upper valley! Signing up for the trip was super easy; I went on Trailhead, the website that hosts all of the trip information, and simply pressed "Sign Up"!

This time, we visited multiple farms and orchards: the first being the River View Farms. The farms had a huge corn maze and a cozy shop where we had hearty apple ciders and patches of apples and berries! We sampled so many different apple varieties: Honey Crisp, Crimson Crisp, Zestar (our favorite), Cortland, and McIntosh. Getting to try so many different apples grown organically on a farm, a first-time experience as a New Yorker (from the city) was the coolest thing ever—which is another reason that drew me to Dartmouth, the rural vibes of New England is so refreshing and rejuvenating—especially being able to enjoy it with other POCO members!

Next, we decided to hop over to Mac's Maple about half a mile away from the River View Farms, because we wanted to try the last batch of Maple-themed food before the end of the fall term! Mac's Maple also had a corn maze, except it also had a giant red tractor next to it. But the star of our visit was the Maple shop: creemees (yup, that's how it's spelled), a creamier soft-serve made with maple syrup. Creemees dipped with maple cream donuts and chocolate chip cookies were the exact treat we needed after our midterms!

After a satisfying grub, we headed back to campus. On the way, we listened to Noah Kahan, humming The View Between Villages and many of his other songs that parallel the mildly chilly fall weather. But in the car, we were cozy and jolly: the community like POCO makes Dartmouth feel like home. To the prospective applicants, I hope you'll join me on more trips like these next fall!
Posts You Might Like
Dartmouth's climbing gym is a hidden gem and one of my favorite pastimes. Continue reading to discover what makes it so special.
In celebration of the new Attitudes of Coexistence exhibit at the Hood Museum of Art, artist Choe U-Ram spoke at two artist talks I attended. Read on for highlights from the experience!
Brace Commons, East Wheelock House's community center, is finally complete! Come take a peek at the newest building on campus.
A transformative course on media, history, and identity.
In celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM), a variety of programming was offered to celebrate AAPI students and culture on campus. Read on to hear about my experience serving on the committee and attending events!
The Fourth of July: a federal holiday usually spent over summer break with family and friends. Not this year, though! As a result of sophomore summer, I spent this holiday with my friends at Dartmouth.
I've gotten so much joy out of snapping pics of all the flowers that have been springing up this term!
Behind the scenes of Dartmouth's biggest spring weekend: Green Key, as a member of the Programming Board!
Goodbye Wheeler! Now, where do I put my stuff!?