“Bald Place”
Mount Moosilauke, one of the great White Mountains scattered between New Hampshire and Maine, has enjoyed a close association with Dartmouth for nearly 100 years. The designated final stop for freshman orientation trips every summer, the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, which sits at the center of 4,600 College-owned acres on the mountain, recently turned its surroundings an even deeper shade of green with the addition of the Class of 1965 Bunkhouse, which opened in June. “It is a truly unique and astound- ing aspect of Dartmouth that a college has placed a mountain in a central place in the school culture,” says Adam Schneider ’15, former chair of Dart- mouth Outing Club’s Cabin & Trail program. (C&T is responsible for main- taining 50 miles of trails on and around Moosilauke.) “It speaks volumes to how students here cherish the outdoors and College traditions as a whole.”
53.6 MILES ACTUAL LENGTH OF “THE 50,” A HIKE FROM HANOVER TO THE LODGE THAT A SMALL GROUP OF STUDENTS ATTEMPTS EACH YEAR.
SUMMIT RUINS IN 1860 A HOTEL CALLED THE PROSPECT HOUSE (LATER TIP-TOP HOUSE) OPENED ON THE SUMMIT. AFTER THE PROPERTY WAS DONATED TO THE COLLEGE IN 1920, STUDENTS RAN IT UNTIL 1942, WHEN IT BURNED DOWN. A STONE FOUNDA- TION REMAINS, ALONG WITH THE CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS OF A NEARBY CABIN AND EMERGENCY SHELTER RE- MOVED IN 1978.
A DOWNHILL FIRST THE LOWER SEC- TION OF GORGE BROOK WAS ONCE PART OF HELL’S HIGHWAY SKI TRAIL, SITE OF THE FIRST U.S. DOWNHILL CHAM- PIONSHIPS IN 1933.
9.5 MILES LENGTH OF TRAILS ON MOOSILAUKE THAT ARE PART OF THE APPA- LACHIAN TRAIL (FROM GLENCLIFF TO KINSMAN NOTCH).
26 MILES LENGTH OF MOOSILAUKE’S NINE MAIN TRAILS AND VARIOUS LOOPS.
$485,000 COST TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN THE NEW CLASS OF 1965 BUNKHOUSE. DESIGNED TO SLEEP 26, THE 1,270-SQUARE- FOOT BUILDING INCLUDES TWO WOOD STOVES, A STONE TERRACE, AN INCINERAT- ING TOILET AND A DARTMOUTH- GREEN INSULATED METAL ROOF.
CHROME DOME WITH A BARE SUMMIT THAT OFFERS 360-DEGREE VIEWS OF THE OTHER WHITES, VERMONT AND THE ADIRONDACKS (ON SOME DAYS), MOOSILAUKE GOT ITS NAME FROM THE ALGONQUIN WORD FOR “BALD PLACE.”
AT HOME IN THE WOODS THE LODGEOPEN FROM MAY TO NOVEMBER— SLEEPS 94 AND CAN SEAT UP TO 100 FOR DINNER. ABOUT 4,000 PEOPLE VISIT ANNUALLY.
4,802 FEET ALTITUDE AT THE SUMMIT, MAKING MOOSILAUKE NEW HAMPSHIRE’S WESTERN-MOST 4,000 FOOTER AND 10TH HIGHEST PEAK OVERALL.
WARNING! SIGN AT THE BEAVER BROOK TRAIL, WHICH GAINS 2,000 FEET IN ONE AND A HALF MILES: “THIS TRAIL IS EXTREMELY TOUGH. IF YOU LACK EXPERI- ENCE PLEASE USE ANOTHER TRAIL. TAKE SPECIAL CARE AT THE CASCADES TO AVOID TRAGIC RESULTS.”
MOOSE HIKE THE NAME OF A TREK INVENTED BY BRAD BACKUS ’95 AND BERNIE WAUGH ’74. COM- POSED OF THREE TRIPS UP THE MOUNTAIN AND BACK, IT COVERS A COMBINED 36 MILES OVER SIX TRAILS.
