The Challenge of Southern Maine

Received a short check-in voicemail from Jack this morning. Since we last heard from them they were getting ready to face Mahoosuc Notch and Mahoosuc Arm. If my understanding is correct, they hiked about 16.4 miles on that day, day 85, all the way to Baldpate Lean-to, elevation 2,660'. The following day they had to go 8 miles off the trail to get to Andover, a small town with 4 buildings, including one general store. They made a resupply there, enough to tide them over until their next refuel. When they finished the trail that day, day 86, they wound up near South Arm Road, the northern gate from Andover. They sounded a bit discouraged at the difficulty of the trail at this point.
Jack said that southern Maine was just too hard to complete 20 mile days. They are working on raising their average. They were hopeful that their daily average would go up as they hike farther north.
My calculations show that in order to finish by day 100, they must have a daily average of 17.4 miles per day. Fortunately, their average is well-above their original average of 22 miles per day. The final leg of the northbound AT is notably daunting. However once they get past this portion of the most challenging portion of the AT, they should be able to take respite in the fact they will be less than 200 miles from the northern terminus of the AT.
Continued trust in Providence to bring them safely home. That plus their effort, has been all that has kept them safe thus far. It is not over until they are safely home....so continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks!