In the Field With First-Year Trips

Posted on September 10, 2025

In a Dartmouth tradition, incoming students hit the trails and get to know each other.

First-year trips have long been a Dartmouth tradition, allowing incoming undergraduates to explore northern New England while also getting to know each other as part of orientation.

This year, four photographers for Dartmouth News took part in 12 of the trips, ranging from hikes up Mount Moosilauke to cabin camping in the Second College Grant to museum visits and farm workdays near campus.

Students dance in flamboyant outfits
The Hype Crew—upper-level students helping to lead the trips with the Outdoor Programs Office—teach first-year students “The Medley” on the Gold Coast Lawn before they set off for three days of trip adventures.  (Photo by Robert Gill)
Kabirah and Haadya
Kabirah Azeez ’29 and Haadya Ahsan ’29 enjoy first-year trip activities. (Photo by Robert Gill)
An aerial view of students circling on mountain bikes
Several of the trips were based in the Upper Valley, including mountain biking at the former golf course in the North End of campus. (Photo by Chris Johnson)
Students belaying rock climbers
Trip leader Michael Chen ’27 gives Bea May ’29 belaying advice during a climbing trip in Sunapee, N.H. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Student rock climbing
Philip Brooks ’29 tries one of the harder climbing routes on the Sunapee trip. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Students create large bubble at museums exhibit
Christian Nicolas ’29 and Calvin Wang ’29 explore the Montshire Museum’s bubble zone during the museum exploration trip, another of the trips near Hanover. (Photo by Robert Gill)
Students hike up rocks from the river bank
A little farther afield, Bristol Casperson ’29 leads the way back up to a cabin after a foray onto the riverbank in the Second College Grant, the 27,000 acres of rugged land owned by Dartmouth in northern New Hampshire. Part of the nature photography and cabin camping trip, the group took several small hikes to explore the scenery. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Students sing and play instruments
Isaac Lawrence ’27, Aditya Bhat ’29, and Seokhee Han ’29 rock out to a Noah Kahan song during cabin camping and jamming. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Students stand in a semicircle and watch two people perform lumberjack charades
Along with hiking, swimming, canoeing, and fly fishing, there were several games to be played on trips to the Grant. This one, fittingly, is called the lumberjack game. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Coconut lentil curry
Coconut lentil curry was one of the pre-planned meals that all the trips cooked on their adventures. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Exterior of a cabin a dusk, with warm lighting shining through the windows
Students on a cabin camping trip enjoy dinner in the Peaks cabin at the Second College Grant. The two-room cabin was built in 1959 on the site of an old logging camp. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Tents out in a field
Off-campus trips offered cabin, tent, and tarp camping options across the state.  (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Person holding a camera
All the students on a nature photography trip in the Grant gathered to take photos of a worm dangling in a path. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Students canoeing
Trip leaders Rose Calleja ’27 and Lena Bird ’28 lead day two of paddling with their group on the Magalloway River in the southeastern corner of the Grant, near the Maine state line. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Anika Larson loading a canoe on a trailer
Grant “croo” captain Anika Larson ’26 loads a canoe while picking up two trips that had just arrived via the Magalloway River.  (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Students in waders with fishing rods exit a spot on the river
Members of the fly fishing trip in the Second College Grant head out to a spot in the Magalloway River. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Students unloading wooden crates
From left, Mubeen Chaudhary ’29, Jesse Rowland ’29, and Yankai Wen ’28 prepare apple crates at Riverview Farm in Plainfield, N.H., as part of the farm hopping trip. They spent the afternoon helping out at the farm, which is near the Connecticut River two towns south of Hanover, and where they were also camping.  (Photo by Robert Gill)
Rohini Kieffer and Zeine Nabulsi writing letters
Rohini Kieffer ’29 and Zeine Nabulsi ’29 write letters to their future selves at the Dartmouth Skiway lodge on the last day of their trip.  (Photo by Robert Gill)
Students walk with bags of trash
First-year students returning from hiking and camping trips around the state descend on Moosilauke Ravine Lodge for a last evening of fun before heading back to campus. (Photo by Eli Burakian ’00)
Students walk through a tunnel of people
Students at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge create a tunnel of hands to welcome those who have just arrived, signaling the end of individual trips and gathering once again as a larger group.  (Photo by Eli Burakian ’00)
a group of students sits together smiling at the camera in hiking gear
Clockwise from top, trip leaders Nicole Bogdanos ’27 and Kit Knuppel ’28 with first-year students Anders Caspersen ’29, Kiki Haque ’29, Izzy Menna ’29, Ravi Malhotra ’29, and Tim Groves ’29 during their 20-mile hiking adventure from the Appalachian Trail to the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. In the distance is the East Peak of Mount Moosilauke.  (Photo by Eli Burakian ’00)