An aerial photo of the area. I've added yellow dots to show the trails we followed.
Long day today – long hike – about ten miles. Most of the story is told in the photos for today. Jonathan claims his entry is “we went up – we came down.” Today’s hike took us up on a ridge between two arms of the Vatnajökull glacier through the heath for a rise and return of 1,200 meters (600 each way). The views were spectacular. I’ll leave the day’s narrative to go with the images.
An aerial photo of the area. I've added yellow dots to show the trails we followed.
Wood crane's-bill (Geranium sylvaticum).
Wild thyme (Thymus praecox ssp. arcticus).
Northern rock-cress (Cardaminopsis petraea).
The first waterfall of the day.
Looking back (eastward) towards the hotel.
Crossing the stream.
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium).
The trails in this area were well trod.
Svartifoss - Black falls.
The trail down to the base of the falls.
A close-up of Svartifoss.
Things were a bit crowded below the falls - a photography class had made the trip.
The geometric shape of the boulders downstream is characteristic of the basalt.
Thrift (Armeria maritima).
A wooden deck over a marshy section.
Alpine mouse ear (Cerastium alpina).
More thrift.
And even more thrift.
Jonathan checks his camera.
Mountain avens (Dryas octopetala).
Taking a look at another waterfall.
Walking across the heath.
Looking up the ridge.
Moss campion (Silene acaulis).
One of the streams we crossed was rich with the streamers of this orange-red algae.
Looking southward back towards the coast, the river draining this tongue of the glaciar winds its way to the sea.
The icefalls that create this glacial flow fall off the main body of Vatnajökull.
In the distance, the glacier we walked on the previous night, and the buildings of our hotel are visible.
Getting to a good spot overlooking the glacier. This tongue is named Skaftafellsjökull.
Paul, Kay, Barbara, and Jonathan taking in the vista.
Erling looks at the glacial lagoon at the snout of the glacier and the plains beyond.
Kay and Barbara.
A number of walkers resting, and admiring the scenery.
Shirley navigating the rocks.
Shirley and Jonathan buckling up for the next leg of the walk.
A patch of purple alpine bartsia amid the silver-colored woolly willow.
Heading up the heath.
The broad landscape of our walk.
Still climbing - the glacier on the other side comes into view.
Heading on after a brief rest.
Alpine fleabane (Erigeron borealis).
The patchwork of green, silver and white mosses and lichens covering the ground.
We stopped for lunch. For me it was a messy affair - the yogurt got punctured and got all over everything.
Shirley testing the seating on the mosses - they were quite comfortable seating.
Still heading upward.
The mosses gave way to a more rocky landscape as we got higher.
Pausing for the vista.
Looking back down the trail and over the coastal plain.
The only shot I took of the snout from 'upstream'.
The peak that we were heading for - the trail led around it.
Jonathan takes a snap.
The rivers running across the coastal plain.
Jonathan posing (he does it so well!) in front of the glacier.
The glacier flowing downhill.
Taking a snap at the top.
Kristín takes the sweep position heading east across the heath.
At last - some downhill!
Heading over the ridge.
The peak in the distance is (I believe) Lómagnúpur. …
… If I remember Kristín correctly, this peak is the home of a giant that is one of the four protectors of Iceland. More details on the legend about the protectors are just below this gallery.
A view of the peak, Kristínartindar.
Some more uphill - and a view back towards the sea.
Another view of the trail as we approached the base of the peak.
Some downhill! The terrain shifted to grassland.
A cairn overlooking the view to Lómagnúpur and Skeiðarárjökull glacier in the distance.
Barbara.
The path lead down a broad meadow to the edge of a promontory.
Margie, Paul, and Shirley.
Looking back up the trail.
Heading down around the promontory.
More downhill meadow.
The vegetation shifted again with low trees and shrubs.
Downy birch (Betula pubescens).
Tea-leaved willow (Salix phylicifolia).
The story Kristín repeated to us, was that the King Harald Gormsson of Denmark (a convenient villain as Denmark controlled Iceland for numerous years) sent a wizard to scope out the island for invasion. To do so the wizard took the form of a whale. As the wizard/whale approached the each quarter of the island (southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast) he was repelled by the Landvættir (defenders of the land) of the area, a giant, a bull, an eagle, and a dragon respectively. He then fled back to Denmark and reported that no safe approach was possible.
These four figures are featured on Iceland's coat of arms and coinage as shown to the left. This is a 10 króna piece I scanned on a flat bed scanner.
At dinner, I missed (again) shots of the cuisine – the appetizer was lamb skewers, followed by arctic char on wild rice and then ice cream.