A loud shrieking noise fills the air as an electric guitar, turned to full volume, accompanies the wild screams of "Five forty-five, five forty-five." The tired 'schmen roll over in their sleeping bags on the floor, rubbing their eyes and thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?"
And so begins the first day of their Dartmouth Outing Club trips.
This fall about 90 percent of the incoming Class of 1998 throws domestic life to the wind and brave the fierce but beautiful New Hampshire wilderness as they hike the highest mountains, canoe the raging rivers, mountain bike the roughest trails and scale the steepest cliffs that New Hampshire offers.
Others take leisurely strolls through the woods on "sedentary" hiking trips, go horseback riding or paddle the slow waters on anything-but-stressful fishing excursions.
But the trips have one thing in common -- they create a bond between the five to 15 freshmen on each trip that could last a lifetime.
Freshmen lucky enough to arrive in Hanover by bus will be greeted by their leaders and the perpetually cheerful "Hanover crew" dancing the Salty Dog Rag.
You will dine that night with your "trippies" and your leader. Eat hearty, as this may be your last good meal for several days.
After dinner everyone heads for the luxurious "dorm-floor hotel" where an entertaining skit performed by your leaders will present some of the rules of the wilderness.
Then it is off to bed early, as a breakfast of cold oats awaits after the traditional and always creative 5:45 wake-up call the next morning. If you are lucky, there will be hot water for the oats.
Then everyone boards the busses and it is off to the drop off site. The feeling once you get into the woods is incredible. Many of your trippies will be hiking, biking, paddling or fishing for the first time, so a quiet sense of awe is common early in the trips.
This awe is quickly replaced by talking, singing, storytelling and dancing as your leader teaches you the Dartmouth songs like the Alma Mater.
If you sing loud enough you may forget that dull ache developing in your back and that throbbing blister starting on your foot. Just be sure your boots are broken in before coming to Hanover!
Food on the trips can best be described as wholesome. Your leader may bring a special sweet treat if you're lucky.
And the facilities are ... well don't ask. Just remember that you're in the great outdoors. Some trips will have cabins and shelters to bunk in, others will sleep under the stars.
After three days and two nights in the wild, the trips converge on the College-owned Moosilauke Ravine Lodge at the base of 4,800-foot Mt. Moosilauke.
At the Lodge you will be reunited with the other trips who spent the night in Hanover three long, long days ago.
The night at the Lodge may be the most memorable of the trip. There is an enormous meal prepared by the musical "Lodge Crew" that is followed by a square dance where students can show off their Salty Dog Rag talent.
Breakfast the next morning is a special treat straight from the legendary Dartmouth alumus Dr. Seuss.
A final warning about the Lodge -- the showers are off limits so the sweat will have to ferment for one more day, unless you take a swim in the icy-cold mountain stream!
