Day 3 : Thorsmork Volcano Hike
Route : Back out to Ring Road / 1, and back to Seljalandsfoss parking lot
Campground : Skogafoss
Campground : Skogafoss
Our day started in Middle Earth at the Thakgil campground. It normally would have been difficult to leave such an amazing place, but the weather was still shit - there had been no improvement overnight - and WE WERE GOING TO HIKE A VOLCANO. So we said goodbye to Gondor and started our drive back to Seljalandsfoss to meet up with our group from Trek Iceland for our Volcanic Death March.
As you can see, the scenery was terrible. Nothing at all to see here.
As you can see, the scenery was terrible. Nothing at all to see here.
Views of Eyafjallajökull from the Ring Road.
Just for fun --->>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hhziJTtMiE
Just for fun --->>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hhziJTtMiE
This has got to be the shittiest photo of Seljalandsfoss ever taken. If you don't believe me, just do a Google search. By the time we got to the parking lot, it was already packed with people - and the best thing about this waterfall is that you can walk in behind it. HA! NOT THIS DAY.
There had been a rock fall on the trail behind the falls on the day before, and it was closed to tourists. So. We didn't even bother - we figured we could see the same thing rubbing elbows with 200 people that we could see standing right next to the concession stand drinking coffee and eating doughnuts. I mean, what else do you do as a couple of middle-aged jigglypuffs who thought it would be a fantastic idea to hike a volcano?
There had been a rock fall on the trail behind the falls on the day before, and it was closed to tourists. So. We didn't even bother - we figured we could see the same thing rubbing elbows with 200 people that we could see standing right next to the concession stand drinking coffee and eating doughnuts. I mean, what else do you do as a couple of middle-aged jigglypuffs who thought it would be a fantastic idea to hike a volcano?
Right. First eat. Then pee.
Icelanders have a keen sense of humor.
Icelanders have a keen sense of humor.
Then load up on the snorkelbeast. Drive to where the pavement ends. Deflate tires. And go. like. hell.
River? HA! Bridges? PFFFFT. Icelanders got no time. Why go over when you can go through?
I'm convinced Iceland refuses to build bridges and pave highland roads simply because it would negate the need for snorkel jeeps
and jacked-up buses. Who can blame them? We've decided we need an entire fleet of Icelandic vehicles.
and jacked-up buses. Who can blame them? We've decided we need an entire fleet of Icelandic vehicles.
We took a few minutes as a group to get geared up and the guides tried to mentally prepare us for the punishment they were about to deliver, and then I took twelve steps and thought - " OMG what have I done."
Welcome to The Valley of Thor.
Welcome to The Valley of Thor.
This section of trail through the Thorsmork Valley is called the Kattarhyggir Ridge, or Cat's Spine. I imagine it would be particularly dicey in bad weather or wind - but we were lucky. My brain was way too overpowered by the all-encompassing awesome to be concerned about personal safety. Or maybe it was the lack of oxygen and wheezing from my superfit cardiovascular system. Nah. I'm sure it was the awesome.
As if that rope's gonna save you. As if.
Bringing up the rear - as we do. And yes - that's really where the trail goes. And yes - that part is actually worse than it looks.
The very sweet youngster who was relegated to the back of the pack to deal with the slow pokes and old folks and people who belong nowhere near a hike like this. Translation : he spent a lot of time with us. And promised me he was not going to let me die in the Highlands.
We made it to the lunch spot and we didn't die! I demand a ticker tape parade! And umbrella drinks brought by Icelandic pool boys!
Tucked in between Godalandsjökull to the east (shown - an offshoot of Myrdalsjökull) and Eyjafjallajökull to the west, this was the best damn PB&J we've ever eaten. Period. (just like -foss means "waterfall" in Icelandic, -jökull means "glacier")
Eyjafallajökull (which in English translates to Island Mountain Glacier) is one of several Icelandic glaciers that conceal large, subglacial volcanoes. It was this volcano that erupted in 2010, blowing a huge ash plume into the air, screwing up flight patterns and grounding flights to and from Europe and generally being a giant PIA.
There are quite a few volcanoes in Iceland that are overdue for an eruption - and none is watched more closely than Katla, which lives below the Myrdalsjökull glacier to the east. There's a running joke that if you sneeze near Katla, a seismologist will study it. That's for good reason. I'll explain that in Day 4 - we got a really good geology lesson from our ATV guide, Bjarki.
Tucked in between Godalandsjökull to the east (shown - an offshoot of Myrdalsjökull) and Eyjafjallajökull to the west, this was the best damn PB&J we've ever eaten. Period. (just like -foss means "waterfall" in Icelandic, -jökull means "glacier")
Eyjafallajökull (which in English translates to Island Mountain Glacier) is one of several Icelandic glaciers that conceal large, subglacial volcanoes. It was this volcano that erupted in 2010, blowing a huge ash plume into the air, screwing up flight patterns and grounding flights to and from Europe and generally being a giant PIA.
There are quite a few volcanoes in Iceland that are overdue for an eruption - and none is watched more closely than Katla, which lives below the Myrdalsjökull glacier to the east. There's a running joke that if you sneeze near Katla, a seismologist will study it. That's for good reason. I'll explain that in Day 4 - we got a really good geology lesson from our ATV guide, Bjarki.
ONE PERSON WHO WAS SLOWER THAN US!
Hello, Gorgeous.
Taking a breather and thanking Thor that there were people already on that ridge so we have to wait our turn. Oxygen = good.
At this point, the other guide (who is half mountain goat - I'm sure of it) was getting worried about the weather that was showing itself at the top of that mountain - you can see a veil of clouds was not-so-slowly descending over the ridge. He was concerned we wouldn't make it all the way to our destination. The weather changes quickly in Iceland. I took the photo above, then immediately turned around and took the next two below. Literally sunshine and rainbows. Danger ahead, rainbows behind.
At this point, the other guide (who is half mountain goat - I'm sure of it) was getting worried about the weather that was showing itself at the top of that mountain - you can see a veil of clouds was not-so-slowly descending over the ridge. He was concerned we wouldn't make it all the way to our destination. The weather changes quickly in Iceland. I took the photo above, then immediately turned around and took the next two below. Literally sunshine and rainbows. Danger ahead, rainbows behind.
And when we hit the glacier, everything went to shit. In a hurry.
We went from blue sky and sunshine to wind, rain and hail, coming at us from all directions - all at the same time.
And it was COLD.
Visibility tanked and beyond this point we struggled to see the trail. I had no idea what the volcano we climbed up actually looked like. I couldn't see it. We scrambled to the top of something - in a fog so thick you couldn't see each other, never mind the landscape. I actually think the guy coming down the ridge in the photo above could be on the crater we climbed - but I honestly have no clue. So according to Google, this is where we were, and what it actually looks like there:
It would have been kind of nice to see it. But it's impossible to complain when you've spent 8 hours in the Valley of Thor. This is the area newly formed by the 2010 eruption - the craters of Magni and Modi are two of the youngest craters in Iceland. They were named after the sons of Thor, and the area of the new lava field created by the eruption has been named "Godahraun" - or "Lava field of the Nordic Gods."
I will take this opportunity to say that we may have dragged ass on the first half of this hike, but we redeemed ourselves in every sense of the word on the way down. We finished a good 15 minutes before the second group. And we finished before either guide, because they stayed behind to pick blueberries and to make sure everyone made it off the mountain safely.
We had planned to stay at Seljalandsfoss campground this night, but thanks to all the rain it looked more like a mud wrestling pit than a campground - and there were no options for us there, or at the smaller campground just down the road, that looked like they wouldn't involve a winch in the morning. So we drove back to Skogafoss and crashed there for the night, listening to the rain and the falls.
This campground is OK, though it's much too small for the number of people using it. Only two showers, and maybe two or three toilets for ALL. THOSE. TENTS. AND. VEHICLES. By this time, everyone here was basically here for the night. Not nearly enough facilities - but after the day we had, we gave exactly zero shits. It was quiet and dry (inside), and there was no chance of waking up mired in mud - and that's all that mattered. There's a full-service restaurant just to the right of this photo, out of frame - convenient, but not remotely cheap. See breakfast tomorrow morning.
Oh - one final thing. That trail that goes up the hill alongside the falls? That is the beginning - or the end, depending on direction of travel - of the trail between Skogar and Thorsmork. Or Landmannalaugar, if you're going all-in. One day we'll be back to conquer that.
This campground is OK, though it's much too small for the number of people using it. Only two showers, and maybe two or three toilets for ALL. THOSE. TENTS. AND. VEHICLES. By this time, everyone here was basically here for the night. Not nearly enough facilities - but after the day we had, we gave exactly zero shits. It was quiet and dry (inside), and there was no chance of waking up mired in mud - and that's all that mattered. There's a full-service restaurant just to the right of this photo, out of frame - convenient, but not remotely cheap. See breakfast tomorrow morning.
Oh - one final thing. That trail that goes up the hill alongside the falls? That is the beginning - or the end, depending on direction of travel - of the trail between Skogar and Thorsmork. Or Landmannalaugar, if you're going all-in. One day we'll be back to conquer that.
All photos are © Sugarjets Studio - all rights reserved. Please don't steal them. Stealing is shitty.
Don't be shitty. And please don't make me be mean.
Don't be shitty. And please don't make me be mean.