Stories like this one can be recounted by many of the more than 120 members of the Class of 2010 who took part in one of 14 trips offered through the Strips program this weekend sponsored by the Dartmouth Outing Club. Increased participation in this year's Strips pushed the directors to offer two more trips than in the past, said co-director Greg Sokol '10. Trips offered this year included rock climbing, whitewater kayaking and a ropes course.
This year's program saw few complications, Sokol said, aside from an error in stocking the trips. EpiPens, which the College requires be carried by trip leaders, were not initially provided. To solve this problem, Sokol and others went on "EpiPen raids" to provide supplies to the camping students.
On one such excursion, Sokol and a few others decided to go naked, only to be discovered by Vermont State Police. Most of group quickly put on their clothes, save for one Dartmouth Outing Club assistant director who disappeared into the darkness.
This student reappeared shortly thereafter wearing nothing but a sombrero covering his private parts.
"The police were not very amused." Sokol said. "They told us you can visit friends, but can't do it naked."
Students raided the organic farming trip group by both land and sea, Sokol said, when both a canoeing trip and rope course trip converged upon the farm at the same time.
"It was a two-pronged attack," he said.
A rock climbing trip leader decided to pull a prank on his trip by placing sex toys and other "forbidden things" up on the rock face before his trippees ascented, Spencer said. By the time the group made their way up the mountain, however, all of the objects were gone.
The group finally discovered the objects at the top of the rock face, where a disapproving climber gave them back the sex toys one by one, she said.
All trips were interrupted by heavy rainfall Saturday night. Katie Ginsburg '10, who went on a moderate hiking trip, said the rain turned their trail into a stream.
Students on the whitewater kayaking trip escaped the rain by taking their bus to a trip member's apartment, according to Sokol.
"They hung out with each other in the apartment and bonded, so I was happy," Sokol said.
For some, Strips offered a different experience than that of DOC Freshmen Trips. Several trippees said they found Strips to be a much less awkward experience than the first-year equivalent.
Andrew Smith '10, for example, said he knew very few people on his climbing trip, but found that it took less time for people to get to know each other.
"Freshman trips are meant to be a first impression of Dartmouth," Sokol said. "You don't know anybody, don't know what to expect. Now you kind of know everyone as a class. It's a great way to kick off sophomore summer."
Strips are far less structured than Freshman Trips, Spencer said, noting that students on one rock climbing trip broke up their weekend with a trip to a drive-in movie theater. Although the program also does no not include the dinner at Moosilauke Lodge or performances by student "croos," which highlight Freshmen trips, trippees were still "free to sing and dance," Sokol said.
Yet for some, the Freshman Trips spirit of outdoors and new friendship remained.
"It was a great excuse to go outside and meet new people," Smith said.
