Over 91 percent of the Class of 2017, around 1,040 students, danced to the Salty Dog Rag, trekked out to the wilderness and ate a home-cooked meal at Moosilauke Lodge during Dartmouth Outing Club's First-Year Trips, which concluded on Monday.
Trips, which involved the efforts of 336 trip leaders and Croo members, began on Aug. 26 and transpired without any major problems, Trips director Chris O'Connell '13 said. "I'm really impressed by everyone's hard work," he said. "It was such an incredible thing to see come together because it involved so many students."
This year's program featured a new trip utilizing the College-owned ropes course and the introduction of the Oak Hill Croo, which provided support for both the mountain biking and ropes course trips. The number of participants in this year's program is an increase from last year, during which 88 percent of the Class of 2016 registered for a trip. This year's directorate increased advertising efforts and worked with the field hockey and volleyball teams to ensure that players could go on a trip before preseason training. Other minor changes to the program included an updated menu, a new easy hiking route and a wider variety of activities at the Lodge.
College President Phil Hanlon visited and spoke with Section B participants at the Lodge.
Mountain biking trip leader Christie Harrison '16 said the new Croo proved useful.
"[The Croo members] were instrumental in our success, because they were there to help us navigate the trails, and help with any bike maintenance and first aid," Harrison said. "I personally fell off my bike and took a tumble, but they were there and ready to help. They were awesome."
Harder hiking leader Sarah Waltcher '16 said that she also faced few complications during her trip.
"We got a bit wet and we were awake in the night for a few minutes trying to shift our bodies so we wouldn't get wet, but other than that we actually encountered no problems," she said.
The directorate makes extensive preparations to avoid complications while Trips are underway.
"If you think about it, the program is run on shifts, so there's a new trip leaving essentially every day," Waltcher said. "There are multiple trips out in the wilderness and trips coming back at once to campus and I think it's incredible that all this goes so smoothly."
While living outside can be uncomfortable at times, incoming freshmen are typically open-minded and excited about the experience, Harrison said.
Incoming freshmen who participated in Trips said they enjoyed their experience.
Gabrielle O'Donoghue '17, who went on cabin camping, said Trips encouraged her to move beyond her physical and social zones.
"I think that our trip leaders really decided to challenge us and push us, and we went on an eight mile hike up a mountain in the pouring rain," she said.
"It was crazy but awesome at the same time."
She said that the trip leaders facilitated open and honest discussions which in turn helped to create strong bonds within the group.
Jake Donehey '17, who went on the canoeing trip, said that he was impressed by the diversity of the students in his section.
"There was one girl from South Carolina, and one night, we had a two hour discussion about different ways we say certain words or identify certain things," he said.
"It was kind of neat that we were all from the same coast but we say things in very different ways."
Trips aim to introduce incoming students to Dartmouth, with trip leaders acting as wilderness guides and fielding questions about student life.
"Last year, what I got out of my trip was having people that I knew and I could talk to and ask questions to," Waltcher said.
"At a very basic level, that's certainly what I would hope my trippees come away with as well."
Trips originated in 1935 when DOC members invited first-year students to join them on a hiking trip before matriculation.
Ever since, Trips has grown and participation has increased. In the late 1980s, the DOC made Trips open to all incoming students.
