On Saturday (7-23) our taxi arrived at the motel at 6:30 PM to take us 2 ½ miles back to the AT in Hanover.  We had climbs of 400, 600, 900 and 1,000 feet.  Our major concern was availability of water as several water sources were dry.  The weather was hot, in the 90’s.  We had lunch at the Moose Mountain Shelter and napped for 50 minutes.  We completed our 16.6 mile hike at 6:15.  We started our day on Sunday (7-24) at 6:40 AM on a great day weather wise – cooler and less humid.  Our main concern again was water shortage.  At the start of the day I carried 3 liters (6 pounds) rather than the 2 liters (4 pounds).  We had climbs of 900, 1,500 and 2,300 feet.  We finished our 19.1 mile hike at 6:30 PM.  Once again we hiked for nearly 12 hours.  We camped at the Ore Hill Shelter.  On Monday (7-25) we began hiking at 6:45 AM.  We went to the Beaver Brook Shelter and refilled our water containers.  I treat non-spring water (creeks, streams, brooks, rivers, ponds etc.) with Aquamira.  It kills bacteria and is widely used by hikers.  After lunch we began a 3,800 foot climb at Mount Moosilauke.  Going up and over the 4,800 foot mountain is a real challenge due to continuous climbing of nearly 3 hours over a steep and rocky terrain.  We made it with just two five minute breaks for water.  As we approached the top, the weather got colder and windier.  At the summit the wind was about 50 MPH. We began our descent on the northern side at 3:00 PM and finally reached the bottom at 6:30 PM.  It was a difficult descent on wet rocks and required the use of hand bars.  An additional problem was that Pilgrim was hurting from a thigh muscle pull that occurred going up the mountain.  He fell twice coming down the mountain and had swelling on his arm and leg.  At the bottom of the mountain we reached Kinsman Notch.  We called for a shuttle and were driven about five miles to One Step at a Time Hostel in Lincoln, New Hampshire.  There were about 20 hikers there.  Most of us slept on the floor of the garage as there were only six bunk beds.  I was thankful for my Therm-A-Rest air mattress.  We hiked 17.0 miles for the day.  After 18 weeks (126 days) I have hiked 1,789.3 miles for an average of 14.2 miles a day.  There is now less than 400 miles to reach Mount Katadhin in Maine!