While some sophomores spent their interims catching up on television reruns or working on the Commencement and Reunion staff, 12 members of the Class of 2001 tried to recreate their freshmen trips prior to returning for the Summer term.
Organized by Robin Levine '01 and Rohit Joshi '01, the trips from June 18-21 resembled the popular freshman trips, with several differences. The Student Assembly, the Dartmouth Outing Club and the 2001 Class Council collectively funded the trips.
While freshman trips introduce new classes to Dartmouth and each other, the sophomore trips were less structured. For safety reasons, DOC-trained students Rohit Joshi '01 and Jaime Musnicki '01 officially led the hike, but Levine said the leader held less authority than typical freshman trip leaders.
"No need to baby them, we're sophomores ourselves," Levine said.
Sophomores received BlitzMail messages about the trips during the Spring term and could choose a degree of hiking difficulty. From an initial response of 85 interested students, only 12 actually participated. Levine said she had two trips planned, but only one took place because of the small number of people.
Mehmet Iyigun '01 said he expected more students to participate, but the size of the trip did not bother him. "That was cool, I wanted to go out in small groups," he said.
Levine and Rachel Goldwasser '01 acted as both Hanover crew and Moosilauke Lodge crew for the trip. While in Hanover, the trippees went on a scavenger hunt, during which they performed in order to receive clues and props.
"We walked to all corners of the campus, the golf course, the DOC house, Ledyard, the BEMA," Iyigun said.
At the end of the hunt, they used the props in a skit illustrating important hiking skills, such as drinking a lot of water.
The group hiked 10 miles during the first day and spent the night in tents at the Jefferson Brook Shelter on the Appalachian Trail.
An attempt to raid the trip proved unsuccessful. "We spent four hours trying to find them in the dark," Levine said. "I had melted Ben & Jerry's in my car, and we got lost going there," she said.
The group finished its hike at Mount Moosilauke. Jon Potter '01 said the group members elected to hike around the mountain, drop off their gear at the Lodge, and then hike to the summit.
Although only a few students participated, Levine said there was a lot of enthusiasm for the trips. Furthermore, she cited the small turnout - 15 students - for the first year of DOC freshmen trips as a sign that the program will grow.
Planners of future sophomore trips would need to improve the timing of the weekend to avoid a conflict with Commencement and Reunion activities, Levine said.
