Easter Sunday

April 20-21, 2025

Ironmasters

Mile 1105.1

Easter Sunday dawned clear and clean. I slept late and got out by 8AM. The day before, on the way to the shelter, I’d passed some seasonal decorations on the trail and at Quarry Gap.

A hiking club I’d met on the road said that the volunteer who takes care of this area always puts something out for the different seasons. They also mentioned that the guy would be retiring this year. I don’t know if the tradition will continue, but I felt fortunate to have seen it, and to have heard about the tradition. Later, some section hikers who passed me joked about someone having eaten all the candy out of the eggs, and I found myself surprised that it hadn’t even  occurred to me to check.

So when I set forth towards Pine Grove Furnace this morning, and ran across a brightly colored egg in the crook of a tree, I did check.

And there was a piece of candy inside!

I looked around, but didn’t see anyone. Was this trail magic? It sure felt like it, so I ate the candy, carefully replaced the egg, and moved on.

Soon after, there was another, and another.

I figured I’d gotten one already, though, so left the rest, and continued down the trail with a smile on my face. 

Some time later, as I approached an intersection, I saw a family—the parents holding each hand of a very small toddler. She had a little basket, and the parents were not too subtly trying to direct her attention to some of the hidden eggs. I greeted them and passed, feeling a little odd. Suddenly, it seemed clear that they had organized this whole egg thing for themselves. This was no trail magic. I had literally taken candy from a baby.

…

Left alone with my guilt, I covered the remaining miles pretty quickly. I also passed at least two areas that claimed to be the midpoint of the AT. (The actual mileage has changed over time as trail sections have been moved or rerouted.)

one midpoint…

…and another

The Ironmasters Hostel was supposed to be open for the season, but no one was there—at least no caretaker. It looked a little run down, and there were notes everywhere telling how to check yourself  in (fill out a form from the stack on the table), how to pay (put the cash and the form through a slot cut through one of the many old wooden doors that wouldn’t open), where to go (dorm rooms on different floors, all with signs and instructions of their own, etc.  I did eventually find Calculus in one of the dorms—he was less than impressed with the whole setup—and Shuttle was there too. I hadn’t seen him since Pen Mar. He said he’d been traveling with ESSC, who had gone home to spend the weekend with family and would resume hiking shortly. The whole place had kind of a haunted house vibe. The showers barely ran, and there were more notes everywhere telling you what to do or not do. Instead of a hiker box, the front table was covered in all kinds of stuff left behind. One note directed me to an area where I found boxes from my family. It was so awesome to get stuff from them, but there was more of it than I could fit in my pack, and I needed to do some problem-solving. I shared some of the bounty with the others, and set to figure out how I could make the rest work.

Providentially, two former thru-hikers named Cooper and Trippy came by with a delicious Easter dinner for us. We had some good conversation, and they offered to mail a box forward to Duncannon for me, so I packed up the extra supplies from my family and handed them off. This time, the trail magic was real.

Calculus moved on early the next morning, but I stayed an extra day to clean/repair some gear and rest up. The caretaker came by eventually, and another hiker and I helped fix the showers, at least a little. I got a great home-cooked breakfast before I headed out. Seemed like a fair trade to me.