(Eden and Lin) 

Note: Pictures at the bottom

Had an excellent night in Campground Fjalladyrd/Mödrudalur. We were up on the earlier side, including Eden, while Lin had the coldest shower of his entire life since the water heater was not working in the bath house. Rather unusually, they charged for showers at this campground, but since the hot water was broken, it was free. 😉 We do have a heated shower in the camper van, but we have used it sparingly. Actually, the van is pretty cool – has huge propane tanks that power the fridge, the hot water, the camper heater (forced air with ports all over the living areas), and the stove. When we plug it in at a campsite, the fridge switches to electric. So you can have hot water, the stove, and fridge even if not plugged in. It also has a “house” battery for lights, etc. There have only been a few nights where we could not access a plug (this was one of them), and the only downside is that I have to rely on an array of battery bricks we brought to charge the phones and my laptop. Otherwise, we wouldn’t really need electricity. 

We finally wrapped up and said goodbye to our favorite campground so far and drove back out the gravel road to route 1 before driving up out of the immense flat highlands (rimmed with mountains) and down into the Lake Myvtan region. Our first stop was at Höfði, a peaceful little wooded peninsula jutting out into Lake Myvtan that has lava pillars in the water. We had read online that Lake Myvtan is known for small annoying gnats called midges, so we dutifully pulled out our headnets that we had packed before stepping out of the camper. Immediately, we understood why! Dozens of midges swarmed around our heads, although once we were on the trail, they were generally less present. They don’t bite at all, but it is unpleasant without a net to say the least. Eden was the most experienced net-wearer of all of us, having to sport one almost all the time she was outdoors in Alaska for the past two summers conducting research for her senior thesis. The hike was peaceful, with the best view of the lake at the end. 

From there we drove a few minutes down the road to Dimmuborgir, which is a large lava field with unique lava formations. We did a mid-length trail of two miles or so, which took us through the center core of the field. Eden immediately spotted wild blueberries, so we all spent more time than the walk required, picking blueberries along the way – some for immediate consumption, and others to keep for tomorrow’s breakfast (kept safe in a ziploc). Before leaving, some of us paid for the restroom – the first time for us, since most of them have been free (and we have one in the camper van, too). 

Next was Hverfjall crater, a massive volcano with a 2.1 mi loop around the perimeter of the crater up top. It required a steep climb but once up we were rewarded with views of the massive crater to one side and views of Lake Myvatn/geothermal area/mountains to the other. We immediately began an intense familial debate about which direction to traverse the rim: clockwise, which consisted of a series of slight uphills and slighter downhills until the peak, after which was a sharp downhill, or counterclockwise, which was the opposite. We decided on the latter. I think this is about as close to “fighting” as we get as a family – more of a low-stakes debate (although of course we have minor annoyances with each other in such a tight space over two weeks). The views were stunning and the trail conversation was silly and we were all in good spirits, especially so because we could see rain in the valley below but it never reached us. On the frolic down, inspired by Harrison’s baseball practice (throwing baseball sized rocks into the crater – which was devoid of people), Dad challenged Kieran and Eden to estimate how long it would take to fill the crater if every visitor threw one rock into the middle, with the assumption that the crater sides would not shrink in size with every rock removed. We approximated 36k years. In case that was a question in anyone else’s mind.

After that was the Hverir geothermal area, which somehow smelled worse than the campervan. We didn’t stay long but the sulfur smoke and resulting colors of rocks were cool! Like Yellowstone but not. Lin flew the drone from a distance, being sure not to fly over people. 

Then was a half hour drive north, again leaving the Ring Road, to Dettifoss, (disputedly) the most powerful waterfall in Europe. The falls themselves were a little underwhelming because the mist and direction of the wind blocked much of the water itself, but it was neat to see. And the landscape was crazy! Not much vegetation — looked like Mars.

After viewing Detifoss, Eden set out north on a long trail run of 20 miles to our campsite. She and Lin are both training for the Canyon de Chelly ultramarathon in Arizona in early October, but Lin has paused his training due to knee issues, so he couldn’t join her, sadly. The rest of us walked a bit to see a Selfoss, a second and much wider waterfall upstream. 

We loaded back in the van and drove the 20 miles to Asbyrgi campground, situated within a large horseshoe-shaped canyon with walls that are between 50 and 200 feet tall (with the tallest being at the center of the “U”). The campground was large and shockingly nearly empty, so we had our pick of spots near the canyon wall, and with electricity. Lin started on dinner and eventually Eden arrived, having hit 20 miles! Her run was mostly downhill, but through an insane diversity of landscapes, from the moon-like landscape, next to rivers and canyons, including a significant small river crossing, through low vegetation / forest, and then down the canyon face (mostly using a rope). She did not see a single person the whole time. Sort of freaky. 

Harrison and Lin threw a football outside around 10 pm – trying to keep Harrison’s pitching arm in shape! 

We are averaging approximately 20,000 steps per day, which is excellent. Some days I am closer to 30,000 – and sometimes those include arduous hikes. It feels good to drop into bed feeling like you’ve done something. Each day we drop things from our itinerary, though! Lin had done a ton of preparatory research, and then Eden put together a preliminary itinerary for most days that Lin and Eden both filled in. It’s worked out pretty well so far, but requires both of us to scramble the night before and sometimes on the road, finishing the details and finalizing things that we want to do. 

(Note: you can click the images to see larger versions.)