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Writer's pictureDanielle Dedeaux

GREEN Program 2023: Journal Six

Updated: Mar 19, 2023

Date: March 9th, 2023

Location: Þórsmörk, Iceland

 

Today was pretty adventurous. It started off with waking up around 8am in to reorganize my backpack. We were going to spend a night in the highlands- specifically, a place called Þórsmörk or Thórsmörk, which translates to Thor's Valley. The belief is that the Norse god of thunder and the sky, Thor, was flying over Iceland and he dropped his hammer at some point. When the hammer landed, the force of it hitting the ground created a huge valley. Thus, that area was named Thor's valley.


We were going to stay in a cabin in that area. A little place called Basar Mountain huts. And before going on the trip, I was a little nervous about the thought of camping in a foreign country, even if we were going to be in a cabin. But after a couple of days in Iceland, I realized that there's nothing to be worried about! Because Iceland doesn't have any pest. No bugs, no reptiles, nothing to be afraid of sneaking into your cabin or your sleeping bag at night. Also, the cabin we're staying in? Not only is it supposed to have heat. It's supposed to have heated floors. Safe to say I was pretty excited for this trip.


After a while, I was able to pack my bag with everything I needed. A change of clothes, some pajamas, toiletries, extra socks, flashlights, and all sorts of things. I even made sure to bring my fully charged laptop so I had somewhere to plug in my phone since the cabin apparently didn't have any outlets. I know this particular part of the trip was supposed to be about disconnecting from technology but I couldn't help it! I needed to be ready to take pictures of all the beautiful things I was going to see today. Especially if I finally managed to get a glimpse of the Northern lights while out in the highlands.

 

Once my bag was finished, I got dressed today in a couple extra layers than usual before heading down to breakfast. I'm talking thermal underneath the fur-lined, winter grade hoodie and wind breaker with bright blue snow pants to go with it. Of course, you always need your layers when going to Iceland. But today was going to be extra special on top of staying in the highland cabins. Today, we were going to hike a glacier! More on that later :)


Though before I made it to breakfast, I went down stairs to see a surprise waiting right at the front door to the hostel. It was another dog! She was sitting patiently on the mat right at the front door, obviously following the order that she wasn't allowed to roam around indoors. But she was this really, really cute black lab named Hekla. And I loved playing and petting her so much that I would have spent all day with her if it weren't for the fact that I still had a couple of things to do before we left for the day.


Breakfast this morning consisted of toast, all the different types of toast spreads you could think of, some meats, fruit and juice- all of which I'm now starting to consider a traditional Icelandic breakfast considering it's the exact same thing I've been eating for breakfast every day here. Not that I mind though- there bread for toast here is the absolute best. After I was done with breakfast, I went ahead and got a little work done for school on my laptop while packing lunch for the day since we were supposed to be exploring all day. I had about an hour to kill, so I managed to get a good amount done on top of making lunch. It wasn't too hard, just a simple hand sandwich with a juice box an apple, and something called Skyr, which is just Icelandic yogurt.


Around 10 AM, we were all ready to go. So we all packed our stuff into these giant jeeps with giant wheels the people at our hostel liked to call Super Jeeps that were being driven by some members of staff/professional tour guides, and we left the hostel for the rest of the day, ready to explore so more of Iceland! And the best part? Hekla the dog (and her dog dad as our guide) came with us!

 

Our first stop was Sólheimajökull- the glacier for our glacier hike! It's a pretty big glacier but I think it's most know for behind above one of Iceland's most infamous volcanoes- Katla. Though in the past, it was a lot bigger. I don't know all the numbers (despite most of the signs around the glacier being written in English, oops) but from what I remembered, it was about a 7 minute walk from the base of the glacier to the parking lot. And the parking lot was located where it was because that was where the glacier used to be. So that was really sad to think about just how far the glacier has retreated. Still, it's considered to be one of the bigger glaciers on Iceland and the most accessible one of the Iceland so I'm super glad I got the opportunity to see and hike on it.

When we got to the glacier, one of the most noticeable things about it was the fact that it was covered in this black stuff. It turns out, it wasn't dirt like me and the rest of our group thought it was. It was volcanic ash and sediment from Katla. We also learned (while getting bundled up our extra layers and getting fitted for our boot spikes so we could actually climb the ice), that hiking the glacier and a lot of other spots in Iceland are really dangerous. We had two guides- both of which were on the volunteer rescue team so I knew we were in good hand. But it was a little worrying hearing that we had to be extra careful about where we stepped on glacier because we could fall into a crevasse or step on a spot that was being affected by the volcano (and might make you fall straight through the glacier and into the water below in the absolute worse case scenario ever), I still felt prepared to take on this hike. Because even though it was probably the most dangerous hike we've been on all trip, the lack of extreme wind made it somehow one of the most reassuring hikes. If that makes sense.


Anyways, we made our way up by walking very carefully but also kind of stomping out feet into the ground to ensure that the spikes would catch into the ice. It was actually pretty quick to get to the top of the glacier. At least, the top of where we were going to go. The glacier is pretty big but it took us no long at all to get to the highest level without trying to explore the entire thing. In fact, it was so fast that you could only call it a hike because of how much effort was put into making sure you didn't fall off this elevated surface and into the body of water in front of us. It really more like a walk. Either way, it felt so cool just being able to stand on top of the glacier. I mean, how many people can even say that they've stood on top of a glacier? Let alone saw one in real life! Anywho, here's picture of me, not quite looking my best after days and days of hikes, looking happier than ever at the top of Sólheimajökull.


We spent a couple of minutes on top of the glacier looking around and taking in the view. Then our two glacier guides gave us a talk about safety and what they do as people on the volunteer rescue team. It was interesting seeing all their tools and how they used them. But it was also kind of eye opening just hearing from a bunch of the locals talking about the dangers that these really beautiful places house and how you have to be smart when exploring around Iceland (such as never exploring the glacier without a glacier guide).


Eventually, they finished showing us their tools and talking about safety and a little bit of glacier history and it was time to head back. We took a different path down. One that brought us through this path that feels carved out in the glacier that surrounded us with tall walls of ice and packed snow. It was so beautiful even though it was covered in volcanic sediment and the walls were a weird texture. Still, it was just such an amazing (and not that cold, surprisingly) experience and I'd honestly do it again if I could!

 

After we made it down from the glacier and walked back to the bus, we packed away our boot spikes and got back into the car. The dog, Hekla was sitting in my spot when I got in. I tried to move her but she was pretty adamant about sitting there so we just kind of had to squeeze in there until her owner called her to sit up front. Once I got my spot back, we started to drive off to our next location. During that time, I was able to eat some of my lunch. But before I knew it, we were already at the next spot on our trip! A little place called Skógafoss.


Although, Skógafoss isn't exactly little. It's actually a pretty giant waterfall! And it was so pretty (and windy right at the bottom) and we could see a rainbow almost right away! I really loved it, despite the cold. There was a pathway you could take that was just a bunch of steps to the top of the waterfall. We didn't have a lot of time at this stop so I decided not to go to the top and risk running late or making myself miserable with that climb. Though if I were to visit again, I'd go back in a heartbeat. But view from the bottom was more than enough for me!

Our next stop was actually another waterfall! This one was called Seljalandsfoss and it was also really pretty. There was a cute little shop near the base of the waterfall so naturally, I had to visit and look at the what they were selling. I didn't quite have enough space for any souvenirs but I just had to grab myself some hot chocolate before continuing. I've been a good sport this entire trip. I deserved it. Anyways, after I got my hot chocolate, I walked over to look at the waterfall. I talked to some of my teachers who were on the trip with me about the waterfall and they said that there was a path you could use that took you behind this waterfall, but it was closed due to its icy conditions so that was a little disappointing. While I was standing there and looking at the waterfall, a huge chunk of the ice right near the top broke off and fell into the water below. It made such a huge crashing sound, it was almost a little scary. Obviously, nothing major happened but I was definetely taken for surprise.

After a little while of standing at that waterfall, I started to follow this walking path that I saw the rest of people in my group take. It guided you to a two much smaller waterfalls off to the side of Seljalandsfoss. They definetely weren't as impressive and at this time, I was starting to feel a bit over waterfalls. On top of that, my hot chocolate was starting to run out. But I made it to the end of the path to see one of our guides right at the end of it. And he then direct me and the small group that I walked over here with to another waterfall. But this time, I didn't mind. This waterfall was definitely different. It was mostly hidden behind a bunch of rocks, like the mountain it was on was trying to keeping it concealed. But from what you could see, it was a lot of ice and icicles around the base of the waterfall while so much water was rushing down. It looking one of those locations straight out of a training montage. Like it was a place where protagonist go to become one with themselves or something. And to me? That feeling just made it even more beautiful.

 

Once we finished up at Seljalandsfoss, we were back on the bus again and we were finally on our way Þórsmörk! It was a nice, scenic and relaxing drive for the longest time just looking at the Icelandic country side. It amazing seeing how so much of the land is flat and how there are these giant mountains towards more of the center of the island. But it turns out, that's because that in the past, the water levels were much much higher and all of that super flat land was just underwater! Though if I'm being honest, that's the last little Iceland tidbit that I remember hearing during that drive because soon enough, I was out like a light.


Though by the time I woke up, we were in a completely different area. We were now inside (or approaching) Þórsmörk! On either side of our jeeps, there were really tall mountains. But below us, there was no more road! Our jeeps were now driving over tons and tons and tons of small rocks and gravel. It made the ride there a little bit more bumpier, but I was just about ready to go back to sleep. But I didn't. I wanted to make sure I could at least witness this part of the trip since we were going off road. We drove for a while on the rocks with our guides taking a lot of care in making sure we were taking the best path. Though there were some times where we had to cross rivers! At first, the rivers didn't seem like much. Especially compared to the size of the jeep. But once we started driving into the water, I could feel the jeep start to be sweep away. Luckily, we were with experts so the entire ride was fine. But we were also kind of lucky. The drive to Þórsmörk can be around pretty short if the weather is nice. Our drive was only about an hour and a half, but one time when our guides were working with different group and the weather was much worse, it took them 14 hours!

Anyways, after a while finally made it to Þórsmörk's Basar- the cabins where we were going to stay. We all unpacked our stuff from the jeeps and headed inside. The cabin we were staying in was really big and everyone in our group decided that we would all sleep on the top floor of the cabin in the sleeping bags provided to us by the hostel. So, we left all our stuff on the beds that we chose and we went downstairs to go get ready for dinner. We just a simple chili with some chips. But after dinner, our guides had all of us get into groups and tested us on trivia about Iceland and themselves (with a few challenges in the mix)! Needless to say, my group got the most points but I'm pretty happy I didn't have to do any of the challenges such a take a shot of fish oil. Though I did try fermented shark just so I could get bragging rights. Which by the way, was so no worth it in the end. Oh well.


After we finished hearing who won, our group decided it would be nice to play a game of Telephone but with Icelandic! If you don't know what telephone is, it's just a game where everyone lines up or sits in a circle and you have to pass on a message by only whispering it to the person in front of you. The objective is to keep the message as close to the original as possible. In English, it can be a bit hard but it's absolutely possible. But with Icelandic, a language none of us spoke, it was impossible. Though our guides had a lot laughs watching us try our best to say whatever they fed to us. Even though we butchered every single attempt (and managed to get a little too close to a curse word in Icelandic more than once).

 

But in the middle of the game, one the teachers on the trip came running into the dinning hall to say that the Northern lights were visible! It took no time at all for me and the rest of the group to run and grab our boots (there was no time for jackets!) and to run outside! And sure enough, they were there! They were super faint but once you took a picture on your iPhone (sorry Android users! I think you needed to manually set your setting for this one), you could see them clearly! I'll attach a picture I took here too!



But after seeing the Northern lights, I realized there was something equally as pretty in front of the me- all of the stars! Growing up near a bunch of cities and just built up areas, it was always kind of ahrd to get a good view of the stars. At my house, there were some nights were I could see stars, but it was absolutely nothing compared to what I saw when I looked up! There were just so many stars and being in the mountains and away from other people made the sky crystal clear. It was just amazing. I wish I was able to get pictures of the sky because it was absolutely gorgeous! And the best part was just turning around and spotting one of the dipper constellations right above our cabin!


After a while, the cold got to me and I ready to head inside and head to bed. I knew there were still people outside watching the Northern lights and some people playing cards, but I was in need of some sleep so I decided to turn in for the night. I got ready, got into my pajamas, did my nighttime routine, got into my sleeping back, and went to sleep in my nice, warm, non-bug-or-critter-filled-space-because-Iceland-hardly-has-any-of-those-things-and-the-only-native-animal-on-the-island-is-artic-foxes, cabin and sleeping bag.

 

Any that's where I leave you guys today! It's been fun but there's only a few more days left for this trip. Either way, thank you so much for tuning in! I hope you'll continue reading until the end! Until next time!

- DD


Picture Sources (in order of appearance):

  • Cabin Icon

  • Hekla the dog, at the door - My photo!

  • Hekla the dog, in the car - My photo!

  • Sólheimajökull from afar - My photo!

  • Ontop of Sólheimajökull! - My photo!

  • Inside Sólheimajökull! - My photo!

  • Skógafoss - My photo!

  • Seljalandsfoss - My photo!

  • Icy waterfall near Seljalandsfoss - My photo!

  • Super Jeep Icon

  • Northern Lights! - My photo!

  • Bye-Bye Icon





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