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five first-year students standing side-by-side pointing to something in the distance and smiling.

Dartmouth's First-Year Trips (FYT) are probably the most iconic Dartmouth tradition. In fact, I remember talking to an alumni who graduated in the 1980s and how they could still vividly recall every detail from their FYT. I finally understood the hype behind this tradition after I went on my own moderately-strenuous hiking trip with 4 other amazing trippees and 2 trip leaders (TLs).

five first-year students standing side-by-side pointing to something in the distance and smiling.

I was stoked for the four-day nature-and-bonding retreat, and it turns out the trip was even better than I had imagined. Other than moderately hiking, everyone on the trip bonded over small things like setting up our camping site together, playing card games under our tarp-house, improvising dishes from ingredients we brought from campus, sharing traditions from our own cultures, stargazing, etc. etc. 

Inside a tent on a wooden platform in the dark, two people are working hard to scrape off the rain leakage in the tent.
Our trip wasn't all sunshine and rainbows—literally. Nature welcomed us on our first day with an entire night of rainfall. Unfortunately, we realized that there was water leaking all over our feet right before sleeping. But we improvised and used cutting boards to scrape the rain puddle off of the platform.


On the summit of a rocky mountain; a girl with her back to the camera hikes towards the tower in the distance.
Having lived in the cities for my whole life, I didn't have much hiking/outdoor camping experience prior to coming to Dartmouth. I definitely felt challenged at many points during the hike up Mt. Cardigan, but as cliché as it may sound, all the tiredness and muscle pain went away once I saw the view at the summit. I've never considered joining the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC)—but my opinions have changed after FYT.


On the summit of a rocky mountain; a girl with her back to the camera hikes towards the tower in the distance.
Having lived in the cities for my whole life, I didn't have much hiking/outdoor camping experience prior to coming to Dartmouth. I definitely felt challenged at many points during the hike up Mt. Cardigan, but as cliché as it may sound, all the tiredness and muscle pain went away once I saw the view at the summit. I've never considered joining the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC)—but my opinions have changed after FYT.

Even though this trip was only 4 days long, this is definitely a memory that I will forever hold dear. I loved every single part of this journey, from the late-night chats and bonding activities to my fellow trippees and lovely TLs. I wouldn't change any part of my experience for the world! 

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