Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður - Vatnajökull National Park.
This was a brutal 16-mile (almost 26 kilometers) round trip hike to the remote Kjós campsite. We were the only intrepid ones, willing to deal with the changeable elements at that moment.
Every step was made more difficult by the ancient dried up riverbed of Morsárdalur.
There were no trails; it was just a seemingly endless expanse of beautiful pebbles...rhyolite alluvium to be precise, that sank and shifted beneath our feet.
The unparalleled views, isolation, the crisp glacial water you can drink straight out of the stream, and the Northern lights making an appearance that night made all our efforts worth it.
We lost our trail markers close to sunset, got my boots wet while crossing streams in a frantic dash for our campsite, we froze our asses off even with our sleeping bags and several layers of clothing. Our limbs reduced to mere jelly from fatigue, it was worth everything.
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The pain of the moment forgotten in the beauty of it all, in the realization that you are but a small speck in the brilliance and vastness of this universe.
Nothing worthwhile or utterly life-changing has ever been easy to obtain.
I could wax poetic about Iceland forever, until I return someday.
Holky fuck that looks like fun! 26km would be well worth the beauty of that hike
Well worth the pain yo!!! For sure! I'd do it again, and recommend it to all. I think it was particularly brutal to me because I didn't have any sort of fitness regimen. I was a freakin' couch potato for a long fucking time. LOLOL
And you lived to tell the tale! ;) Amazing words and photos!!! ( I actually read this twice) It's always worth it in the end, isn't it?
Thank you so much!!! I don't know if my words even make any sense....English is my second language, but I really really tried to capture how I felt. I really appreciate you reading through. <3 <3<3
Jesus christ every time I see another picture from Iceland from you two it just makes me want to go there so badly. That waterfall is so cool- the slate layers remind me of a pipe organ :)
I'm sorry I keep posting about it dude! I still fucking dream of the damn place every now and then. It's haunting me in such a good way. I hope that with crypto stuff you get to do all the things you wanna do! It's giving me a bit of hope somehow that the impossible is within reach. Hexagonal basalt columns are super gnarly - @ghostfish nearly gave me a coronary standing on those overlooking the Greenland Sea in North Iceland. I was like FUCKKK DUDE. I CAN'T SAVE YOU IF YOU FALL IN. LOL
Either crypto or something, I hope I will too! I know what you mean, a lot of the hype seems so surreal but it's also like fuck it why not, I'm not risking anything.
I think the last time I was on Steemit was when I was reading your comment, which prompted me to look into hexagonal basalt columns, which caused me to continue to do that for the rest of that night. I also found out I've been to one of the larger ones in CA when I was in my early teens, but I don't really remember it at all.
Anyways, yeah, make sure he doesn't fall in, lol
Amazing amazing amazing! I would so love to go to Iceland. It looks like you had an amazing time. Beautiful photos, too! What time of year were you there?
Thank you my dear! We went after tourist season... in early September 2015. Everything was SO MUCH CHEAPER. Our flight was $600 round trip, (I have seen $300 tickets recently) our car rental that would have been $1500 driving around the Ring Road for 10 days was only about $900 bucks. You living in Canada means you're used to inclement weather, so you wouldn't be afraid to explore in the rain. :D The locals thought we were nuts for trying to camp in the cold though. What do ya do when you're Midwestern and wanna go on the cheap? Hunker down with layers. LOL Let me know if you guys wanna go. @ghostfish and I will be happy to give you tips. :D :D Thank you again!
That place is so beautiful! I love the waterfall and the little rainbow created under it :D
You should definitely travel there when you can!!!
I will, for sure :D