Ice Ice Baby

May 28th, 2016 

  While I am slightly excited to leave behind the cramped quarters of the previous hostel, I am sad that that means our trip is coming to a close. We leave in three days. What?! I cannot comprehend the concept of time. The past two days Vagnstaoir have flown by. Those two days, however, have been two of my most memorable days hands down. 

   Two days ago on May 26th, we headed to Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon. Wow. I truly felt like I was working for National Geographic or was transported into a special on the Discovery Channel. This lagoon was full of crystal blue glacial melt water. It was enclosed on the back side by a retreating glacier, the outlook glacier of the larger Vatnajökull glacier. I was in awe when I saw all of the medial moraines coming together in this flow. On the front side the lagoon was enclosed by terminal moraines. I loved seeing this de positional feature first hand and getting a close look at all the varying sediment that the glacier can carry. The most stunning feature, though, was the icebergs. While some were white as snow others would give an electric light blue hue as the light refracted with the ice crystals. It was an experience of a life time. More amazingly,  there was a whole cove of grey seals, at least 8, playing around and bobbing up and down. They were so much fun. 

    We walked across the street to Diamond Beach after getting back to the bus and eating lunch. This was just as beautiful. From this black sandy beach we could watch icebergs flow out of the lagoon into the ocean. Man was that something to watch. Some chunks of ice would wash up on the beach, giving the beach it's name. They look like diamonds glistening in the sunlight.

    I can say that I was exhausted after all of this. I do not believe I have ever experienced stronger winds in my life. We walked several miles and when walking back, even tho walking on the black sand was hard enough, we were walking straight into the wind. What a work out.

    The following day required much energy as well, but per usual, it was worth it. May 27th we headed straight to the Vatnajökull glacier itself. This glacier is the largest glacier outside of Antarctica, which is pretty darn cool. Before arriving we made a pit stop to look at another outlook of the glacier. It was a great find. Here, we could see the parallel and perpendicular fractures and crevasses on the retreating glacier wall that causes the icebergs to fall so clearly! The water here was a murky off white, different from the previous lagoon. This is due to the mass sediment flow out of this glacier. Very cool to see. The water again was contained with in terminal moraines. The frost wedging weathering of some of the boulders in this moraine was so defined and wicked cool. On the mountains in the surrounding area, many beautiful radial dikes could be seen as well. 

    We arrived to at the base of the glacier around noon. We watched a short informational video on the national park before heading on our hike. We came to find out, however, that the long hike we were planning to do parallel to the glacier was closed due to "fragile vegetation at this time of year." We chose a different route and I can say I'm glad we did. This new route took us first to an incredible waterfall, Svartifoss. This waterfall has the most pronounced basaltic columnar jointing features I have ever seen. The waterfall carves away at the rock, leaving the pillars on display. It was too cool. 

     We are our packed lunch there before heading on our way. The clouds had rolled in and it started misty raining. We could not even see the mountain next to us, let alone ten yards ahead of us. It was a surreal feeing to be up in the glacial mountains feeling like you are floating above the sky. I was just talking it all in and had no clue where we were going when walking this trail. When we arrived at our destination, I was truly blown away. We were standing on cliffs overlooking the base of the glacier and it's outflow lagoon. Stunning. I could see the lateral moraines on the glacier, the craters and crevasses, the vast depression in the glacier where it caved in due to a mantle plume, the meandering stream that traveled to the ocean with the glacial sediment and melt water. It was like my whole past spring semester in Surficial Processes with Suresh was rolled into one landscape; glaciers, fluvial processes, and coastal processes. During our moment of silence, I was brought to tears by its beauty, something that could never be adequately captured in a photograph. We had the moment to see if we could hear the glacier moving. It is possible to hear it slowly creaking along, though I couldn't thru the rain and my deafness. Interestingly enough, as we were sitting there, the clouds slowly began to roll away and sun began to shine through. Even still, we could not see the vast glacier and mountains surrounding us. There was such a powerful mystery and majesty to where we were.

    The hike down was beautiful as well. Iceland is known for its lack of vegetation. In this area, however, it is so green. There are lots of flowers, shrubs, and yes, even trees. The whole hike we were walking through bushes and past beautiful flowers but on the way down we were walking through a small Icelandic forest. It was wonderful. I felt like I was in a fairy forest. The trees were so bright with their yellow-green leaves glistening against the sunlight.

     The days adventures did not end with our hike however. At our hostel, there is a 1.5 km path to the beach. With having to leave the next day, I knew I didn't want to miss out on seeing this beach. Emily Ritz and I took a late night walk down this path. We walked through the fields and pastures, over several creeks and across several hundred yards of stony black beach to reach the ocean. It was so serene. We were the only ones out there; it was 10:30pm when we arrived at the beach. I loved just standing there with the fresh air hitting my face and the calm sound of the ocean waves crashing in front of me. It was truly wonderful and an experience I am glad I didn't miss out on just because I was tired.

    While this whole experience and trip has opened my eyes to a whole new world and provided me with a plethora of new experiences, the past two days have moved my spirit unlike the others. I have witnessed a vast new landscape that has touched my heart.