These are from the first day of our hike, starting at Landmannalaugar (in Fjallabak National Reserve).
Frostastathavatn
One of our initial ascents
Things quickly turned barren
Don looking tough and sweaty on a snow patch
A jolly group of German clinical psychologists
Standing in the midst of a steamy spring (maybe later I'll post a video of the savage, spitting thing)
All of the moss everywhere was this color green!
And I just really love this picture
The first day was stunning and steep and hard. We climbed about 3,300 feet over 12 kilometers, which I don't know if that's a lot but it certainly felt like it with a 20 kilogram pack on my back. The volcano ash/soil held fast even in the rain, allowing us to scramble up pretty steep slopes without having the ground skid away underneath us. There were no trees, shrubs, plants, animals, or insects (didn't see those until the third day) -- just moss, water, and rocks. The water was clean to drink right out of the stream, assuming it wasn't stinky with sulfur or laced with mineral-happy algae; mostly it was just glacial snowmelt, freezing cold and clear. We reached our first hut at Hraftinnusker (see below) exhausted and a little damp, but were greeted with geothermal warmth and a silver-haired Icelandic hut warden who I thought was the coolest old lady in the world.
1 comment:
I'll have to look at the pictures in more detail later, but I am so jealous! These are some gorgeous pictures!
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