Iceland: Part II
Our first hiking day in Iceland ended on a good note though my body was aching like I'd never experienced before, and I was certain I would wake up to not being able to move the next morning. Thankfully, and I chalk this up to doing so much walking and hill climbing the month before leaving for Iceland, I woke up feeling surprisingly good. A bit of soreness through the shoulders, but other than that, the old body said, "Let's get on the path!" I knew it was too early for Angel Baby to be up, so I putzed around, taking pictures of the landscape around the campsite and having breakfast. Finally, Angel Baby emerged from his hut and we set off.
Not long after we began, a drizzle started. We pulled out our rain pants and raincoats and put them on, then wrapped our packs with waterproof covers. Though the day was cool, I felt snug and warm in my layers. For the next few hours we walked along in silence. Angel Baby walked ten or so yards ahead of me, sometimes further since I continued to stop and take pictures. We walked across a lot of what is referred to as black sand desert that day. Not much other than black sand, which, because of the wind, ended up in my nose, my eyes, and my ears. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a place on my body that didn't sport specks of black sand for the entire time we were hiking. I just looked at it as nature's way of helping me exfoliate my skin.
That day we arrived at our campground early afternoon, much sooner than I thought we would. Our hike was close to 15 kilometers, but it seemed much easier than the first day though we were climbing most of the hike. It was just so gradual we didn't notice it.
At the campground, we found a nice little spot next to the stream flowing through. Setting up the tent went off without a hitch, and in no time we had our sleeping bags in place, our gear stored. As soon as we finished, Angel Baby and I laid down for a "little" nap. That nap turned into sleeping through the afternoon, evening, and into the next morning. Neither of us got up during this entire time, not even to make a trip to the privy. I did wake up a couple of times, noticed the wind had come up and rain was pelting the tent. I was not going to pull on all my rain gear just to go to the toilet. So I just snuggled down in my sleeping bag and went back to sleep.
The next morning, the rain had stopped but the wind was still making its presence known. The inside of our tent next to Angel Baby did get wet, and that's where our packs were stored. Mostly just the straps were wet, but the water did creep in enough to get the edges of Angel Baby's sleeping bag. We pulled everything out of the tent to drape over the tent poles and tent, allowing the wind to dry some of it enough before we packed up and set off.
We took our time getting everything packed up as we knew we only had the 15 kilometers to walk. We figured we didn't need to be in a hurry. We ate a good breakfast, filled up our bladders, then set off for the next campground. All in all, we were feeling rested and ready to tackle the day's hike even though we knew a river crossing was in store for us.
Stay tuned for Part III.
Not long after we began, a drizzle started. We pulled out our rain pants and raincoats and put them on, then wrapped our packs with waterproof covers. Though the day was cool, I felt snug and warm in my layers. For the next few hours we walked along in silence. Angel Baby walked ten or so yards ahead of me, sometimes further since I continued to stop and take pictures. We walked across a lot of what is referred to as black sand desert that day. Not much other than black sand, which, because of the wind, ended up in my nose, my eyes, and my ears. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a place on my body that didn't sport specks of black sand for the entire time we were hiking. I just looked at it as nature's way of helping me exfoliate my skin.That day we arrived at our campground early afternoon, much sooner than I thought we would. Our hike was close to 15 kilometers, but it seemed much easier than the first day though we were climbing most of the hike. It was just so gradual we didn't notice it.
At the campground, we found a nice little spot next to the stream flowing through. Setting up the tent went off without a hitch, and in no time we had our sleeping bags in place, our gear stored. As soon as we finished, Angel Baby and I laid down for a "little" nap. That nap turned into sleeping through the afternoon, evening, and into the next morning. Neither of us got up during this entire time, not even to make a trip to the privy. I did wake up a couple of times, noticed the wind had come up and rain was pelting the tent. I was not going to pull on all my rain gear just to go to the toilet. So I just snuggled down in my sleeping bag and went back to sleep.
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| Angel Baby setting things out to dry. The rocks on our stakes were a must to keep the stakes in the ground and our tent from flying away in the wind. |
We took our time getting everything packed up as we knew we only had the 15 kilometers to walk. We figured we didn't need to be in a hurry. We ate a good breakfast, filled up our bladders, then set off for the next campground. All in all, we were feeling rested and ready to tackle the day's hike even though we knew a river crossing was in store for us.
Stay tuned for Part III.
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