Amazing Iceland

Water is deceiving.  Clear and fluid, water can magnify or it can hide whatever may lie beneath.  Water will expand when heated and will expand when frozen.  At birth we are seventy five percent water; we are bound to it.  It is water that creates the illusion that the world is flat and for those who sail upon on it, water carries them around the world. It is the big blue reflecting seas that give shine to our small bright planet in the universe.

Removing all the water of the oceans would reveal the largest mountain ranges on earth, hidden below the surface.  From the southern tip of Africa to the Arctic Circle, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge breaks through the water surface in only eight locations.  One of those mountain summits we call Iceland.  The summit of Hvannadalshnjúkur rises to 6,921 feet above sea level on this small island.  The highlands of Iceland are massive glacial capped volcanoes, but the lowlands are green and stunningly beautiful; giving a rich life to those that live there.  A visit to Iceland is a serene and inspiring experience.

Two tectonic plates, a divergent boundary, spread nearly an inch every year.  At Iceland’s Pingvellir National Park you can walk in between the steep jagged edges of the European and North American continents as they shift and rise to the sky. Magma is close to the surface and heats the water below.  Hot water, much too hot to touch, oozes from the land. Icy glacial melt pours from the high mountains delivering cold river water and mixes with the hot thermals to create “hot pots”, as they are called in Iceland.  In the Haukadalur Valley there is a trail that meanders alongside open steam vents and turquoise thermal pools and here you will find the most perfect hot pots to sooth your mind and body on a picturesque mountain side after an enjoyable walk on the tundra. 

The first settlement of Iceland began 1,200 years ago and the Vikings and Scandinavians that followed created a unique and lasting culture that will treat you like family and leave you wanting to return not only to explore deeper into this fantastic land, but return to visit your Icelandic  friends. Iceland is a bit more than half the size of Washington State, but with only about 300,000 inhabitants you will find a vast untouched wilderness as wild as a new land can be and locals who are happy to greet you and welcome you to their amazing land. 

A visit to the highlands will bring you close to Arctic foxes and herds of caribou.  Pelagic birds, such as Atlantic Puffins and Northern Gannets nest by the thousands on the ocean cliffs of Látrabjarg and it is truly a site to see. The calling puffins sound like sputtering chainsaws and the mesmerizing sound carries over the ocean waves.  Icelanders love their boats, so it is nice to be able to take a cruise on the water to see the whales.  As you travel through the countryside, you will find the very sweet Icelandic Horse.  Stocky and strong these horses can carry you across the fields on a pleasant horseback ride to view the landscape and get a good sighting of a beautiful white speckled Rock Ptarmigan standing upon a black lava rock.  

Reykjavík is the capitol of Iceland. Neighborhood streets are lined with rows of colorful houses and the unique Icelandic architecture of modern high rise buildings, edges the downtown.  The oldest structure, built in 1762, currently houses a restaurant.  The food in Iceland is amazing and everything is gourmet and home grown.  For those that travel to Iceland for the first time, the “must do” tradition of eating a chunk of Hákarl (fermented poisonous shark) swallowed down with a good and necessary shot of Brennivín is an experience that will not be forgotten.  Brennivín translates as “burning wine”.

Iceland has a diverse economy.  Fishing, manufacturing, aluminum smelting, tourism and software development make Iceland one of the most productive countries in the world per capita.  Icelandic wool sweaters and a growing outdoor gear industry make for great shopping, so bring an empty piece of luggage for the return trip.

In the cold air of winter, water falls from the sky as glistening snowflakes with enough weight to compress into ice and slides down the mountainside carving the land like a sculptor, slow and easy. When the sky is dark, these ice sheets become blankets of brilliant color reflecting the green and purple glow of the aurora borealis streaming across the sky.  With massive glaciers melting every summer, the waterfalls of Iceland are stunning.  The Dettifoss waterfall, located in Vatnajökull National Park, is the largest waterfall by volume and at times can make the ground shake.  A waterfall called Seljalandsfoss, with a wispy 200 foot veil of water falling and a walking trail that sneaks behind the falls, is most beautiful of all. Water creates; giving to amazing Iceland.

If you would like to visit Iceland and join a tour, considering traveling with me at Kaiyote Tours.  You can check out tours to Iceland at KaiyoteTours.com.  You will see and experience amazing waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes, whale watching, birding, eating at the finest restaurants in Reykjavik, off-road Super-Jeep exploring, walking the incredible landscape of this amazing island, soaking in natural thermal hot springs, sleeping at great hotels, snuggling in cozy cabins, Nordic shopping, Icelandic horses and charming Vikings!

Heather Park

The cold came early to Port Angeles.  Temperatures are reliably moderate, but Thanksgiving week-end brought record cold and snow.  It was nineteen degrees on a clear and cold morning when I set out for Heather Park in Olympic National Park.  Heather Park is known for bright blankets of wildflowers in July and although it is the last day of November and my first trip to Heather Park, I know mountains shine just as bright in the winter.

I awake at sea level and a short 15 minute drive later I’m at 2,100 feet at the Heart O’ the Hills entrance to Olympic. Having left my hiking boots in the car overnight, they offer no warmth as I take my first steps on the trail. Several inches of snow crunch under foot and it is the only sound I hear on this most quiet and still morning.  Deep green colors of Sword ferns and Salal plants reach through the frosty snow and won’t let you forget that this is still a rainforest. 

The trail is steep and never relents; a thousand feet for every mile.  The highest crowns of tall Western Red Cedars and Douglas Firs are out of sight and make the steep terrain seem even more of a struggle, but every switchback and every cascading creek pulls your mind along.  “Here, around this corner, a little farther, I think the top is near….” At about 4,700 feet, the snow is two feet deep and I am thinking: “Why are my snowshoes in my storage locker?”  Gray Jays gather to stare and wonder about me as well.

The trees start to get smaller and the views become tremendous.  Looking down the valley, all the way to the bottom and across the resting sea is a crystal clear view of Mount Baker and on a day like this, the completely snow covered volcano reflects every bit of sunshine and towers on the horizon.  At the edges of Heather Park, small stands of sub-alpine firs are completely buried in snow and become bright white spires amongst the black outcropping of rocky ridges.

There is no hiding your presence in the winter world of snow.  Little feet are everywhere. I can see where a Snowshoe Hare has been nibbling the tops of small trees that can’t normally be reached without snow.  Nearby are the tracks of where a Douglas Squirrel was digging for a well hidden cache of pine cones.  The tiny tracks of voles and mice, with the occasional hint of a tail dragging in the snow, reveal their trails from one small shelter den to the next.  Even the faint tracks of a grouse were seen.  But it was the stretch of that grouse’s wing that left the most beautiful imprint of all with the artful wisp of the edges of flight feathers imprinting the top layer of sparkling snowflakes.  

The top, the summit, the end is only the halfway point. It is always nice to have a destination, to have a goal, but it is truly the journey that is the most rewarding of all and it is time to head home again.