Hveradalir & Þingvellir July 11-12

We awoke to another blue sky day and started with a 1km hike from our camp along a colorful stream to Borhola Kerlingarfjöll hot pool, Heather's favorite of the ones we visited. Comfortably warm water pours out of two wells into a shallow pebble lined pool at the edge of a stream. We soaked for a good long while (and could have stayed for much longer), but had more to see. 

We drove the rough road steeply up towards the geothermal area roadend. I took some drone shots at a pull-out before we continued on to the end. We went for a short hike around the Kveradalir geothermal area, bursting with activity from fumeroles and bubbling hot springs. This would have been a worthwhile place to spend more time, but once again we would have a full day. The bridges and steep ridge trails complemented the strangeness of this place.

After Hveradalir we had some more F road driving to continue traversing Iceland's interior. This would be our last wild stretch before we were back with the tourist hoards. Finally back to pavement and the so called Golden Circle of tourist attractions near Reykjavik, we stopped briefly to see the thundering force of Gullfoss. Heather and I both marveled in confusion about how some of these tourist sites work. There was a governmental level of expenditure for poured walking paths, signage, and viewpoint platforms yet somehow shops and cafes give the feel of a private venture.

Next on the touristy roundup was the Geysir geothermal area featuring several colorful pools reminiscent of those at Yellowstone and the geyser Strokkur, which erupted every 10 minutes or so (we saw it erupt twice). Though currently inactive the travertine mound and pool for Geysir (from which the phenomenon takes its name), was nearby as well. We drove a couple minutes past the parking lot and went for a quick soak in the roadside Kúalaug Hot Pool. It was the muddiest and perhaps coolest of all the hot pools we visited but still a worthwhile soak since it was so accessible.

Looking to further boost our lacking number of hot springs visited, we drove to Hrunalaug Hot Spring. Somewhat disappointingly this is now a paid site and was infested with American tourists. We had a chance to sample the waters in each of the three pools including the cozy "footbath" pool exiting the unique turf changing room. We enjoyed for a good long while, working hard to get our money's worth. Three different hot springs in a day: not too shabby. We ended the day at the nearby campground in Fluðir, another remarkably quiet and untouristy campground and a pleasant experience. 

For our very last full day in Iceland we had a more relaxed agenda. I wanted to check out Thingvellir National Park, notable as the meeting place for all the Viking people's across the island (essentially their place of national origin), and perhaps more excitingly for me, an area of extensive fissures that the clearest place in the world where you can walk on a mid-ocean ridge between two plates (North American & Eurasian plates). The cold, wet weather and considerably more controlled nature of the place (paid parking, do not enter signs, etc.) dampened enthusiasm somewhat. We walked over to check out the Silfra fissure famous as a diving site for its clear waters (dull in the present light given as close at we were able to get), then the historic church, the council meeting place, the pool where they drowned women, and then looped back to the car. It was interesting enough. The interpretative sign were pretty well done with interesting references to specific places in some of the Icelandic sagas. 

Onward, we finally had our first views of Reykjavik and stopped in at the uncrowded and surprisingly low key National Museum of Iceland. We saw some neat artifacts and there was some nice interpretative material, but perhaps unsurprisingly the bulk of the collection was very church-y. I guess this made sense with the long dominance of Christianity in the country and churches likely being the best built and most continually inhabited buildings, rare storehouses of treasures from the harsh Icelandic climate. 

After our touch of exposure to Icelandic culture we decided to fork over for one of the uber touristy hot springs. We went with Sky Lagoon, a brand new venture at the end of a peninsula near Reykjavik. Their website and advertising were obnoxiously excessive selling it as an "experience" with different "packages" including options for a "seven-step ritual" and "private changing rooms". The pool looked nice and I had no doubt the water would be pleasant so I hoped I could stomach the rest. The parking lot was busy, no surprise. We did one final clean of the car and did some packing while we were at it. Like dirtbags that had been camping for two weeks we strolled into the dramatic entrance, an automatic sliding door, and the dimly lit lodge-spa surroundings. As we stepped into the back of the line we both looked at each other for a second: this place was ridiculous. When it was our turn we got the full spiel from the cashier-concierge and were on our way. They gave us each a wrist band which cleverly had a chip that would lock/unlock your own locker and also have all your credit card details embedded for bar purchases. We went through our respective lockers and met up on the other side, a subterranean passage with an opening into the blue waters of the pool. Fancy. We entered (yes perfect temperature, this will do just fine) and waded through the 3.5ft-ish deep waters into a cliff-lined passage that led out into the main pool area. Towards the right was a waterfall pouring into the pool, straight out was an infinity pool horizon with the ocean beyond, and to the left around the corner was the wade-up bar. For the size of the place it was not overly busy. All of the rocks surrounding the pool were fake but the most convincing fo-rocks I had ever seen with almost a geologists touch to mimic the local basaltic rocks. Happily all the wellness marketing crap seemed to fade away- pretty much everyone had a wine or beer in hand and were just enjoying a soak. It was interesting people watching I suppose. We stayed for a good long while, enjoying the occasional drizzle and stormy skies.

The pool entrance from the changing rooms

Wade-up bar at distant center

Reluctantly we left, nearing the end of the trip. We had tasty English-style fish and chips near Reykjavik Harbor, then drove on to the Happy Campers Campground (by far the least nice of our trip, but at least very close to our car dropoff and the airport). We did our final packing (managed to squeeze down to one checked bag each!) and had our final night in our roof tent. Bright and early (it's always bright early in the summer here...) we drove to sort out our car then got dropped at the airport. Our return travel was thankfully more straightforward than our outward travel.

We ended up having a fantastic trip and were generally very thankful that we were able to get away. It turned out our alternative Southwest vacation probably would have been a disaster due to an active monsoon season and major floods. We booked our trip to Iceland well before the announcement that COVID quarantine entry restrictions were being lifted the day before we arrived. According to the raft guides our visit might have coincided with one of the best stretches of weather in years. Almost everywhere we went we saw far fewer tourists than we were expecting and it was clear things were going to start ramping up. Our 4WD capable rental car with roof tent ended up being the perfect vehicle- easy, practical, economical, comfortable. We were able to be completely flexible and plan a night's campground stay on-the-fly with never any need for prior bookings. By the time we left Iceland it seemed to be greatly increasing in popularity with tourists and increased flights. Demand was so high that Heather found news articles saying that people were paying $13000 for a rental car for 12 days! COVID cases in Iceland were also on the rise after we left with new restrictions put back in place. It was the right time and place. Perhaps partially by our design we did not interact with a whole bunch of Icelanders or get a chance to dive too deep in their culture, but we covered a lot of ground and saw some truly spectacular geology. We got to see an erupting volcano, stand on the spreading center between two tectonic plates, paddle around two iceberg lagoons, packraft three whitewater rivers (including two likely first descents), drive through all manner of landscapes, see countless waterfall, camp in some interesting places, and bathe in nearly a dozen hot springs. There was still so much to do. I wish we could have stayed longer and I certainly have ideas of others things I would like to see and do if an opportunity for another trip ever came up. Below is my drone footage from our trip.

Vestari Jökulsá July 10

The day started with some important business: getting our pre-departure COVID test in the 9-11am window they would be doing tests in Akureyri. We had some difficulty finding the test location and then some further struggle correctly registering, but once that was over the test itself was quick and smooth and we were back on the road. We drove about an hour west and stopped in at the base for Viking Rafting. We caught one of the friendly guides holding down the fort between tours and had a nice long chat about rivers, eventually sorting out a plan to use them as a shuttle so that we could check out their 10km Class II+ run down Vestari Jökulsá, AKA West Glacial River. We had some hours to kill before their PM Vestari tour and so headed out to the nearby Reykjafoss for a picnic lunch and soak. This would be a B class waterfall were it not for the pleasantly temperatured hot pool right at the top of the falls. We enjoyed it for a good while then  headed back to the base to get our gear ready.

Reykjafoss (and hot spring at top left)

We had a long delay waiting for the tourist family to show for their tour ("traffic" they claimed!!??), but eventually got going. The bus dropped us in a pastoral landscape near a bridge, the river here a similar muddy brown as many other glacial rivers and moving pretty steadily with one of the longest and splashiest rapids right at the start. We stuck with the raft group for the first 10 minutes or so to be sure that we stopped at the hot spring near the start of the gorge. 

We pulled over with the others to stop at the hot spring. Dip your cup into the boiling channel, drop in some chocolate powder, and a perfect temperature cup of hot chocolate was ready to go. After the cuppa we got back in the packrafts, trying to paddle to gain some time on the raft group. 

Hot spring hot chocolate stop

The gorge consistently built in height with occasional spires and dikes to add variety to the dark walls. There were quite a number of turns in the canyon that usually had rapids piling on their outer turns. Heather was consistently on edge from the fast flowing waters, but did not give herself enough credit in reading the water and reacting. 

This 4km gorge section went by quick and I barely had the chance to turn around to snap a few very quick pictures. Around yet another turn I could see the canyon widening and knew we were at the confluence with Austari Jökulsá, East Glacial River. After a failed attempt to land in some quick sand I found a cobble bar right at the confluence and pulled my drone out as quickly as I could. This confluence of two rivers is particularly dramatic, one an opaque blue-green, the other a muddy brown-grey, mixing and swirling until their waters merged below (frontispiece). It was a neat spot I would have loved to have stayed at a bit longer but from my drone I could see the raft group would soon be upon us so I packed up, eager to not keep them waiting for the shuttle at the end. 

The guides told us the rapids would ease up for the last 4km below the confluence, and they were not wrong, but the river had now tripled or quadrupled its flow and so was now behaving like a big water river with stronger hydraulics, eddy fences, and chaotic suction-y boils which was throwing Heather for a loop. We stopped in a giant eddy to let her recollect before paddling the final section. The takeout was obvious enough but a rather step and not terribly great path back up. It was a nice enough run and piqued my interest in the blue-green waters of Austari Jökulsá, though I think it ended up being more than Heather bargained for. At one point I tripped on something and fell sideways on some protruding rebar that would leave a bruise. We packed up just in time as the rafters arrived and headed back on the bus. Though now a much later hour than we planned we still chatted with the guides a bit longer until we decided it was finally time for us to hit the road, another late night already in our future.

A short drive on the Ring Road and then a long drive on Kerlingarfjöll and then a very lengthy drive on F35 past several lakes with distant views of glaciers took us into the late evening. We stopped roadside at a lonely picnic table for our freeze dried dinners then continued on, still many miles to cover. Once again it was desolate, isolated, elemental beauty as we drove with long shadows under moody skies.

We arrived at the Kerlingarfjöll Mountain Resort, somewhere around midnight, while people were still out and about and playing horseshoes! We found a no frills campspot and called it a day.

Suðurá River July 9

From Laugar we decided against backtracking and instead opted to invest the day in checking out the Suðurá River. This was one of the random discoveries I made scouring aerial images before the trip. I do not think it has been on any kayakers' radar and I do not think there is any other river quite like it in Iceland. The river starts from six discrete springs exiting the toe of a young lava flow deep in the highlands that soon merge to form a river. This river then flows over a different young lava flow for over 20km with an initial gradient of 12 ft/mi, eventually building up to 55ft/mi. Because it is spring-fed and flows over the lava it essentially has zero catchment area. The river's base flow likely does not really change (no floods) and the river seems unfit to be able to erode its basaltic bed. Taken together, this river water carries next to zero sediment and is probably the very clearest water I have ever paddled. Of course what most attracted me was the whitewater. The river flows mazelike over the lava as surprisingly shallow flatwater pools linked by short abrupt rapids over lava ledges. Assuming from appearance that virtually all the river's drop was from these rapids, the density suggested that each rapid was on average a 1-2m drop, fun but not scary. In many places the river broke into two or more channels, each with their own rapids, which increased novelty. Everything appeared easy to portage and a 4WD track provided good access along much of the length. Heather was most excited by the river because of the easy scouting and low consequence to the generally short rapids. All this and a good weather forecast prompted us to satisfy our curiosity. 

We drove right past the roaring torrent of Goðafoss and continued on a dirt farm a solid 40km. It was windy but I drone scouted anyway, getting a sense of the more rapid-fire Class IVish lower section- it looked neat! At the farm we discovered that the 4WD track continued as a public road, which certainly improved access. Heather was more interested in the Class IIIish section as so we drove the 4WD road which veered close to the river for several kilometers. At the first sight of a roadside rapid we parked and had a look. The water was so incredibly clear like I had never seen before. The river also surprised me for how shallow it was, uneroded lava outcrops inches beneath the surface on some of the rapids. My enthusiasm waned slightly but in the end it turned out to be not too bad overall. We stopped a couple times to scout the river. Every time we got out of the car we were bombarded by the thickest cloud of flies in all of Iceland. They dive bombed ears, noses, and particularly mouths. We scouted up to the farm bridges about 7km up from the farm gate at Svartárvatn where the road got pretty rutted. I did a dozen point turn and backed down to the top of a long pool section and carefully pulled off the road. We got our gear together and walked a short 2km up the road to sample a stretch of river we were able to more or less scout from the road. 

We inflated and suited as the flies swarmed. The water was cold but clear. Once we got on the water the flies were a little more manageable. I ended up looping around to run the first fun rapid on the left channel twice then we portaged up to run a clean drop on the right channel. After this we had a pretty good feel for the river (not much bite to most of the rapids, shallow rocks to avoid in the pool sections, mostly read-and-run). In the first 2 km we found 10 very runnable rapids to end at the long pool where our car was. 

Heather enjoyed this 2km stretch but was wanted a slower pace scouting many of the rapids I would otherwise read and run. After some deliberation I convinced her to join for some more river since we were here. Yes it had been slow going but we had invested a day into this trip and I wanted to make sure we both ran more than 2km. I creatively strapped the boats to our roof tent using a throw rope and drove 2.5km back down the road, downstream, so that we did not have to paddle a long flat section. We resupplied our snack stock and carried our boats 250m across the low shrubs back to the water. At the first rapid we stopped to scout with the drone, doing my best to remember all the best lines in the upcoming rapids. This section of river had a couple longer multi-part rapids that looked to be fun.

A couple rapids required careful positioning to avoid scrape-y thin portions of rapids, but overall this section was even more enjoyable than the last. The crystal-clear water continued to amaze me. So too did the flies every time we stopped for a brief moment. Looking upriver at the horizon lines was always a neat sight too. We worked our way down: left, left, left, middle, left, then main channel the rest of the way.

The flies!!!

We paddled through about 20 fun rapids over about 3 km, taking out just above a Class IV double drop I would have loved to try with more kayakers in tow. We deflated and desuited as the flies attacked us. On the hike across the lava back to the car the flies were so obnoxious I tied a bandana over my face and struggled to see through the fabric.

I hoped the river would have had a little more bite and that we would have been able to paddle a longer section given the full day investment but at least we were cautious about scouting an unknown river and were deliberate with the sections that we would try out. Once again it was probably a first descent run and we left more to do. I still remain amazed at the water's clarity and uniqueness.

To save time we took our stove and freeze-dried meals to Goðafoss on the way out, prepping dinner as we watched the falls. We drove on to Akureyri, the city in the north where we would camp for the night so that we could get a COVID test in the morning within our final 72 hours in Iceland. Akureyri seemed a pleasant enough city as we drove to the southern outskirts to Hamrar Campground. This one was like no other as we pulled up to the gate to find a lengthy slow line of cars jockeying for entry. Once I got up to the desk and was handed a map I saw why. There were sixteen different camping fields, three lakes, paddle boats, obstacle courses, playgrounds, hiking trails, disc golf course, and so on! It was basically an all-inclusive family escape (and it was a Friday). We found the first small spot we could squeeze our car and took it, leaving the kids to play past midnight.