Day 4
I woke up around 6 am but it was raining. I contemplated getting moving despite the rain. I looked at the forecast and the rain was supposed to pass in the next hour so I had a lazy morning. Ate breakfast in bed and did some reading. The rain stopped rather abruptly a little after 7 am and within a half hour I was on the trail. I had the entire trail to myself for at least the first two hours of the three and half hour hike. The trail was beautiful leaving Landmannalauger and the brilliant colors popped. As I summited Blahnukur Peak, the peak became completely clouded in. I continued on the trail back down into the valley. Once out of the clouds, the views didn’t disappoint. The reds, greens, teals and more geothermals had amazing contrast. This hike challenged the one from the day before for my favorite hike in Iceland so far! The trail started to ascend again to Brennisteinsalda Peak and this is where I encountered the first people of the day. By the time I finished hiking there was a steady flow of foot traffic heading out. Brennisteinsalda was windy but continued to have beautiful views. As I was nearing the end of the trail, I passed the two boys from the Netherlands I had given water to yesterday! I exclaimed, “you made it!” They briefly told me about their evening after having crossed paths with them and they asked if I had gone to the hot springs. I told them I hadn’t because there were too many people for my preference and they hadn’t either because it felt too touristy. We parted ways and I made my way back to my car.
I started my drive to Seljalandsfoss Waterfall which took me out a different F road than I drove in on. I got to my first large water crossing and got a bit nervous so I decided to wait for someone else before passing through. About 20 minutes later another small SUV arrived on the other side and was equally leery. We walked the edges exchanging where we thought it was shallow and deep, then spotted two larger trucks moving towards us in the distance. I hopped in my vehicle and watched them both choose the middle path where the water came about ¾ way up their tires. I threw it in drive and followed. I had butterflies and swear it felt like the vehicle floated for a little in the deepest section but was probably just me overthinking. I stopped on the other side and offered to stay to make sure the other vehicle passed through. The family happily said yes and started their drive and successfully made it through as well.
It was a long and beautiful drive. I stopped and got petrol AGAIN because I was at half tank (my new minimum for fueling up). It was about $40 USD to fill up half a tank! I used the toilets and bought a few items including more bread, some bars, and some fish jerky to try!
I finished my drive to Seljalandsfoss Waterfall. When I pulled in, I was overwhelmed by the number of people. I don’t like crowds, I don’t like spending money to be in crowds (there was a parking fee) and I was getting tired after the hike then drive and I hadn’t started scouting a camping spot and it was after 5 pm… so I started to get anxious… so I left. It took me a bit but I found a camping place nearby at Camping Tjaldsvæðið Eystra Seljaland.
I set up my tent and proceeded to do something that eases my anxiety… organize! I dumped the contents of my car out and repacked everything in tidy order, filled my water bottles, charged my power bank with my solar panel, ate some muesli for dinner and started to journal to try to sort out how I handled the next part of the trip. I am off schedule now because I recognize that I have tried to put too many activities into today. I have a couple of options. I could head back over to the falls around 9 pm and see if the crowd died down? I could get up early and try to pack one more thing into tomorrow? I had two waterfalls and a lighthouse planned for to on top of the hike… which I think was by accident because that is obviously way too much. I could scratch some of the items or I could just start pushing things back and do what I feel like I can enjoy each day. My biggest dilemma right now comes back to me not planning on visiting the same place twice. There are so many places to see in this world, I can’t imagine returning to one that I have already visited so I HAVE to see everything I’ll ever want to see there. It makes me pack too much into my trips and it is exhausting. So what if I don’t see everything? What if I have to revisit a place? These are rules I made for myself that are no longer serving me but fueling my anxiety…
Update:
After a car repack, a journal entry and some downtime, I ventured back to Seljalandsfoss Waterfall around 9 pm and walked around with probably only 100 other people. Lol
Day 5
I had contemplated last night revisiting Seljalandsfoss Waterfall this morning when there were potentially less people. I realized this morning that I didn’t need to revisit in an effort to capture it with more solitude. The photos and videos I took yesterday were actually quite spectacular (for my abilities) with the sun near the horizon so late. It worked in my favor to return at a different hour last night. It just happened to be the golden hour and my photos this morning would not have the same luster.
I packed up camp and headed to my next adventure / waterfalls. I originally planned to do this 4 mile hike but this morning, I thought I would just visit Skogafoss and that would satisfy my curiosity. After prancing around the waterfall which I had to myself at 6:25 am this morning, I glanced over at the trail and couldn’t help myself. Hiking boots still in my care and muck boots on already, I continued down the trail photographing each of the waterfalls I encountered, Skogafoss, Hestavadsfoss, Fosstorfufoss, Steinbogafoss, Fremri-Fellsfoss, Rollutorfufoss, and Skalabrekkufoss.
It was a beautiful morning walk! I got into my car and started my drive to my next activity. As I drove, the weather started to turn and by the time I made it to the lighthouse at Dyrholaey, it was pouring down rain and the car was shaking in the parking lot from the wind. I sat in the vehicle contemplating why I don’t feel like it is okay to be a fair weather traveler… But if I am 100% honest with myself, I think that is what I am. The forecast says the rain should let up and just be windy this afternoon so I drove to Vik and found a cafe, Lava Cafe, to get a hot chocolate and here I sit contemplating whether I wait out the storm or skip ahead on my itinerary to some place that might not be pissing rain. I plan on heading back south for church on Sunday so I could catch this section on my drive back through.
The weather looks like it is lightening up so I would probably head back out. When traveling alone, I have become aware of how few people are out here on their own…
Update:
It was still rainy and windy but I enjoyed walking around Dyrholaey. The arches, lighthouse and some puffins were great to photograph! The place was still crowded even with the weather. I bet there are hoards of people here on a sunny day! I was able to catch one sneaker wave coming through an arch on video which I loved. Along the beaches, there will be a regular wave pattern randomly interrupted by a much larger wave that happens when a few smaller waves combine. There are a lot of warning signs to not walk the beach because of them as they have dragged many people out to sea drowning them.
Afterwards, I scratched the first thing off my list that I had planned to do, Reynisfjara Beach which is claimed to be a 3.4 mile walk with black sand beaches. I had already seen the beaches from Dyrholaey and the weather was not ideal and my phone was acting up and it was near when I started to worry about getting to my next camping spot PLUS I have Diamond Beach still on my agenda in a few days which is black sand but with ice crystals! I got my phone sorted in Vik… I went through too much data. This is actually pretty eye opening 1. How much I rely on my phone and 2. How much I am using my phone. It’s a bit embarrassing to be honest. I was near half tank so I filled up… another ~$40 USD and drove the beautiful road into Pagkil. I set up camp, took a shower and settled in to decide how to tackle tomorrow. Also, there are sheep screaming above my tent right now.
Day 6
I woke up at Pakgil campground. I realized this was the only place I had slated just to camp. Most of my other camping places have just been the closest to whatever activity I was planning next. When I woke up I realized there were really cool land formations just above my tent.
I got an early start and drove to Hjorleifshofdi ‘Historical Promontory’ trail head and started hiking. I didn’t spend near the time I typically would researching this trip and somehow I was a little mixed up and thought I had to hike in to see Hjorleifshofdi Cave. I did not have to hike to see the cave it turns out but this short hike was totally worth the views! The short distance to Hjorleifshofdi Cave seemed like a sweet and slightly comical reward after my hike.
From there, I drove to Fjadrargljufur Canyon and walked the paths. It is pretty touristy. I brought a drone on this trip with me but haven’t yet used it. 1. Because I am not really comfortable flying it and 2. Most places have No Drones posted. There was a guy at the canyon with a drone and he was literally flying it right in front of everyone’s views of the waterfall. It was so annoying. I get that drone footage can be beautiful but respecting others when using it would be even more beautiful.
From the canyon I made the drive to Svinafellsjokull Glacier, then Fjallsarlon Glacier Lagoon and then to Diamond Beach… I have always loved glaciers but don’t get as mesmerized as I do hiking in cool mountains. I took some photos as I walked around but I honestly started to feel quite lonely at this point.
Diamond beach was a bit of a let down for me as well. It was crowded, it was stormy and I happened to be there in the afternoon so the lighting was all wrong for the photos I had in mind and there were really few and small ice crystals washed ashore. At first I thought it was because the tide was coming in but someone later mentioned that it has been quite hot so there are not that many that have stayed frozen on the black sand beaches. The problem with having expectations is you can be let down. Unfortunately, this was an example of that for me.
I made the long drive backtracking to Selfoss so I could attend church tomorrow and set up camp at Camping Selfoss.
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