Dartmouth College

August 24^rd 2011 Dartmouth visit:

Today, we were driven to Dartmouth College in which was Dr. Arion’s place of graduation back in 1979. There was a large historical presence among the many discussions that had taken place which was evidently important to Dartmouth college and those who are Alumni’s. Passing what was said to be one of the largest library in the world, onward to one of the building that hosted a resemblance of a place of study for those who wish a quite place to relax, read and study. Within this particular building were painting which could be preconceived as horrific and/or negative stories. This made me wonder what about these images make students enjoy this quite space as horror really should be so comforting that it relaxes you, should it?

Well, we wondered off to aDr. Arion’s fraternity building which gave the group and I a different view of Dr. Arion. A view of someone who was relaxed, have some fun and still managed to proudly pass all the required courses that earned him his Alumni status. During the tour, we met up with a few current students that gladly showed us the rooms and of course, a picture of Dr. Arion, himself, back in 1979, which I just had to take a photo of for kicks, lol. Since history was Dr. Arion’s key point, I looked up some history on Dartmouth, here is what I found:

History

The Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, a Congregational minister from Connecticut, founded Dartmouth College in 1769. He had earlier established Moor's Charity School in Lebanon, Connecticut, principally for the education of Native Americans. In seeking to expand his school into a college, Wheelock relocated his educational enterprise to Hanover, in the Royal Province of New Hampshire. Samson Occom, a Mohegan Indian and one of Wheelock's first students, was instrumental in raising substantial funds for the College. The Royal Governor of New Hampshire, John Wentworth, provided the land upon which Dartmouth would be built and on December 13, 1769, conveyed the charter from King George III establishing the College. That charter created a college "for the education and instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in this Land ... and also of English Youth and any others." Named for William Legge, the Second Earl of Dartmouth - an important supporter of Eleazar Wheelock's efforts - Dartmouth is the nation's ninth oldest college.

The Supreme Court decision in the famous "Dartmouth College Case" of 1819, argued by Daniel Webster (Class of 1801), is considered to be one of the most important and formative documents in United States constitutional history, strengthening the contract clause of the Constitution and thereby paving the way for all American private institutions to conduct their affairs in accordance with their charters and without interference from the state.

In over two centuries of evolution, Dartmouth has developed from its roots on the colonial frontier into a college that has a special character and a unique place in private higher education: a superb undergraduate residential college with the intellectual character of a university, featuring thriving research and first-rate graduate and professional programs. The quality of the undergraduate experience is enhanced by close student-faculty interaction, opportunities for independent research, a broad range of off-campus programs, and a diverse student body. Dartmouth was named by the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton as one of the world's "most enduring institutions" in 2004.

An Ivy League institution, Dartmouth College enrolls approximately 4,100 undergraduates in the liberal arts and 1,700 graduate students. In addition to 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences, it is home to the nation's fourth oldest medical school: the Dartmouth Medical School, founded in 1797; the nation's first professional school of engineering: the Thayer School of Engineering, founded in 1867; and the first graduate school of management in the world: the Tuck School of Business, established in 1900.

(Ref: http://www.dartmouth.edu/home/about/history.html )

Arethusa Falls Visit

Arethusa Falls was an unexpected delight to see. After a walk along some unforgiving path, the group and I came across the falls and were amazed at the site we had seen. After taking some pictures and hanging around in awe, we then redirected ourselves back to the van, not not before zoning out in a sort of meditation while listening to the water fall and just be one with the peacefulness that had surrounded us all.  The following information is what I found while researching info on Arethusa falls.

Arethusa Falls is generally regarded as the highest single drop in New Hampshire. It's not, Dryad Fall is a 300' horsetail, but Arethusa Falls is by far the more spectacular. Bemis Brook drops over a broad orange granitic cliff, capping a 1.5 mile hike along (mostly far above) Bemis Brook. Arethusa's height figure is fairly suspect. Let me offer some clarification before I hear the inevitable hymns of protest. I eyeball the total height at about 140', which is consistent with estimates printed in early editions of the AMC White Mountain Guide. Professor Huntington and Moses Sweetser measured the falls at 176' in 1875. The vertical portion of the falls (that which is visible from the base) is likely about 120' in height. As you descend to the base of the falls from the recently rerouted trail, you cans see some upper slides through the trees. Taking those into account, I'll buy 140' total. At either height, this waterfall is a not-to-be-missed feature of the White Mountains.

Geology and Bedrock Structure:

The cliff over which Arethusa Falls drops is part of the Mount Osceola Granite formation.

History:

Arethusa Falls was discovered by Edward Tuckerman and named by Professor Huntington and Moses Sweetser in 1875. The name comes from the Percy Bysshe Shelley poem describing the story of a nymph named Arethusa who was turned into a fountain to avoid being the love conquest of the river god Alpheus. Those lecherous Greek gods of old...

Photography Notes:

This is one of the few waterfalls that might benefit from sun. If you wish to capture the entire waterfall, you'll need the blue sky as a background for the falls. On an overcast day, you may wish to compose your shot without including the brink of the falls as a large gray sky is a less than ideal background. The waters dance over the cliff face making an ideal slow shutter study. A polarizer is necessary, but a warming filter is optional. A fairly wide angle lens will help get the falls in the frame. I used 28mm for this shot. As you can see by my photo, it's decent on an overcast day, but you have a small and ugly chunk of gray sky visible above the brink of the falls.

Directions:

Arethusa Falls is a well-signed side road off of Route 302 about halfway between Bartlett and the Gates of the Notch. Park in the lot and the falls are about 1.6 miles and 800' vertical feet away, at least that's what the old trail did. The recently rerouted trail picks up another 100 or so vertical feet and another 1/10 of a mile or so. Shortly after you leave the parking log, you'll see a trail junction leading towards Bemis Brook. Here, you will encounter Fawn Pool, Coliseum Falls and Bemis Brook Falls on the parallel trail. I suggest seeing them on the way back from Arethusa because the climb from Bemis Brook Falls back up to the Arethusa Falls trail is a very steep climb over root ladders and erosion. Coming down is not a simple feat either. Special attention should be made to footing as a slip here would result in a nasty fall. I find it easier to go directly to Arethusa, then delicately make your way down to Bemis Brook Falls. I have to take issue with the new trail to the falls however. Obviously, the rerouted trail represents a lot of work, but once it deposits you at the base of the falls, there isn't much to do beyond some slippery scrambling on angular rocks. There isn't really any place to take a seat and admire the view. In my humble opinion, the old trail (which led to the other bank at the base of the falls) offered better sitting rocks and slightly easier mobility near the base of the falls.

August 23rd 2011

There is something to be said about the weather here in New Hampshire. The weather certainly has its funny moments where you see or hear thunder, lightning and you turn back to descend and just about 20 minutes into your return to your vehicle you notice that the storm has just past over your mountain. Something near to that happened today and it sort of felt shorted on the goal of making It to the top of every mountain I climb. A goal I set for myself prior to arriving in New Hampshire, in fact, a goal I had set once I knew I was able to pay for the trip (via school funds). It’s one of those things I have to face, whether it is from a storm or health, its just not safe either way to be on the mountains during issues like that. So, I had to adjust my attitude about it and move onward to the next mountain, Cherry Mountain. I’m trying to repeat Doctor Zorn’s word he said to me about making it to the top, he stated, “It’s not the point”, he goes on to say, “The point is to enjoy yourself and have fun.” SO I guess I have a lot to learn but I guarantee that I’ll do my best to have fun and enjoy my time on the mountains no matter what I experience, Good, bad or otherwise.

With that being said, I would like to thanks everyone for their continued support and teamwork throughout the day today as we encounter changes to our schedule. I don’t know if anyone else noticed anything about the vegetation while we trucked up Cherry Mountain today but I noticed some of the moss was really wet looking but when I tried to touch it, it was of a dry texture and was not budging from the surface in which it adhered itself to, usually a rock or tree, but it seemed odd to me that something can be wet but durable enough to hold strong against something else.

The trails had many rocks and stone that had fallen into the route in which we traveled today which made it a bit of a challenge. The challenge however, was a welcoming one as it gave me the opportunity to prepare myself for the really rough trial, I feel are ahead of us all in the next week or so. I look forward to learning how the Moss, in particular, eats away at the stone or tree and it would be very interesting to learn at what pace it takes the life away from what it has consumed. Does each moss type have the same erosion time or are they different?

Additionally, Toads were found along Cherry Mountain which made for a great picture, not to forget that a snake had been discovered at the summit.   AS a child (long, long ago) I never really knew the difference between a toad or a frog, which still remains the same today, so anyone reading this, HELP! To me they are really all the same but I’m sure there are characteristics that make each one all their own. As for the snake, there was no mention of anyone knowing what type of snake it really was nor whether it was poisonous. One thing many of the group members knew is that we better not disturb it all too much.

An eye catching amount of trees where noticed growing within the rocks and stones as if the hard surface really are the dirt in which the seeds were sown. An amazing survival feat to say the least when you think of where the roots need to be in order to grow properly, you would thing that it (roots) only have one directive, the directive being underground. This didn’t seem to be my recent observation as I scanned the landscape during my travels upward or downward from any of the trails I’ve been honored to hike.