Fewer than one-quarter of all students who attempted to register for this year's hike to Mt. Moosilauke actually succeeded, due to a new, 25-person limit on the number of allowed, registered hikers. According to hike coordinator Anthony Accurso '99, over 100 people tried to register for this year's hike, compared to last year's 78. The actual hikers were selected randomly, by lottery.
According to Acting Dartmouth Outing Club President Liz French '99, the new limit was added due to regulations written in the DOC constitution.
"We're not allowed to have more than 25 people in a party on the trail," she said. French said this is an issue because many other outing clubs use the DOC's constitution as a model.
Accurso said another hike may be added in future years to ease the high demand.
"It's still on the drawing board," Accurso said. "But the interest is definitely out there."
On the hike, students haul themselves along the Appalachian Trail, which -- if they can manage to stay alive for all 50 miles and 24 hours -- guides them from the Dartmouth Outing Club offices to the Mt. Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. In between, students tackle Velvet Rocks, Holt's Ledge, Smarts Mountain, Mount Cube, Mount Mist and Atwell Hill. At night, students use head lamps and flashlights to prevent themselves from slipping on "muddy spots."
Some hikers who were unable to register may try the hike anyway by bringing their own food or scheduling food drops with friends. Although DOC's Cabin and Trail Chair Sarah McCoy '99 acknowledged that the trail is on public land and unofficial hikers cannot be stopped, both McCoy and French said unregistered hikers are strongly discouraged.
Unofficial hikers "are troubling, but we are expecting it to happen again this year," McCoy said.
"I don't think it's a good idea," French said. "But at the same time, I understand that people want to hike."
This year, hikers may encounter more than just darkness and mountains. According to the National Weather Service, rain and snow showers are likely with temperatures approaching freezing. Mild winds are also likely Friday night. On Saturday, temperatures may increase to 50 degrees, but rain is still possible.
"The biggest danger is spraining your ankle or getting hypothermia," McCoy said. She said that because of the predicted rain and possible snow, there is an increased danger of students hurting their ankles or knees. French said that although no one has ever been killed on the hike, hikers have broken arms in the past, although no major injuries were recorded last year.
According to Accurso, to ensure that injuries are kept to a minimum, five rest stations are positioned at each 10-mile mark during the hike. About five people will staff each station, making sure hikers are fed and injuries are treated. If hikers want or need to stop, they can stay at the rest station and be driven back to campus. McCoy said that over half of the hikers usually make it, but "definitely not all of them."
The Moosilauke Hike began in 1967, when a number of hiking aficionados left Kinsman Notch on one side of Moosilauke and ended in Hanover. Now, the hike occurs in the opposite direction.
