Skaftafell in Vatnajökull National Park
9 July 2019
We officially crossed from the Southern to the Eastern region in Iceland, and the landscape shifted dramatically. Suddenly it felt like we were in a vast desert, with nothing at all around us but black dusty sand and gravel. To the north, the ice sheet of Vatnajökull Glacier – the largest on Iceland – flows down the mountain and pours out into this valley. The flow must stop far to the north of us however, as though we are below where the glacier flows out, there is no ice here. Just flat, dark, barren land as far as the eye can see to the east, south, and west… and a wall of mountains in the distance to the north. The view can hardly be explained.
We drove across this desert, seeing it was about 20 miles along the road to the other side. If we could stop and walk south, it would be almost 15 miles of flat yellow and dark land to the sea. The mountains lay a short 5 miles or so to the north, but the road didn’t go that way. So we drove along to the east, 20 miles through flat land of nothing. It was a surreal experience after everything else we’ve seen here. There were little packed sand offshoots from the road, lined with rocks to make a parking area. Luckily for us we are here in nearly 24 hours of daylight, but I could hardly imagine driving this when the days are full dark. We drove and drove and yet felt like we were getting nowhere.
We decided to pull in to one of those packed parking areas. We got out, stretched our legs, and noted we were a little over halfway through. As we looked around us, the view went on for that miles of nothing... except in the north. The mountains rose from the flat land, in soft hilly mounds and jagged rocky spikes. From there we could see the Skaftafell Glacier, which I’m still not sure if it is considered a separate glacier entirely or is part of Vatnajökull. We could also see the snow-covered Hvannadalshnúkur, the highest mountain peak in Iceland. For such a bleak, barren looking landscape around us, the colors do seem to really come through when you take time to notice them.
We eventually pulled off the ring road and down an offshoot into the Skaftafell area of Vatnajökull National Park. The flat, barren land behind us, we were instead surrounded by lush green mountains and valleys.
And an enormous parking lot.
This was a busy area. The southern entrance of Vatnajökull park- which is right off the Ring Road – it has multiple trails heading to waterfalls and sections of the glacier, along with a start point for tour expeditions to go further into the glacier, and a large camping area as well. The park was crowded. We made our way to the visitor center, used the WC, and got ready for our visit.
We had a dilemma. Time catches up to you on trips like these, and there are things further along you know you want to see, and we still had to get to our camp in a reasonable time. Skaftafell has both an impressive waterfall and a glacier to see… but they are in opposite directions, each being an hour round trip hike, not including time spent at each place. We wouldn’t have time to see both, so we had to choose. As many waterfalls we would see on this trip, and the mental image of actually visiting a glacier still fresh in our mind from Sólheimajökull yesterday, we chose Skaftafell Glacier.
We would come to regret this a little bit. Not that the glacier was bad by any means, it was a great experience; it’s just that the waterfall looks so amazing in pictures and we would have loved to see it. We made our choice though, and can’t waste energy looking back now. It’s just a shame we couldn’t see both, but that gives us one more reason out of the thousands to come back to Iceland again!
We started our hike through Skaftafell park and were a bit surprised by how warm the day was. Our jackets were already off, leaving our short sleeves open for some much needed sun. Hardly a hiking trail, the path to the glacier was packed gravel that made for an easy trek through the greenery. The trail hugged the base of a mountain that rose high above us, but the other side was flat land with scraggly brush. It was a pleasant walk on a beautiful day!
The closer we got to the glacier, however, the more the ice started to impact the air around us. Jackets went back on, and even the warm sun couldn’t pull the chill from the air. We rounded the corner and came to the glacial pools, that beautiful water that looks milky gray at one point and tropical blue at another. The water is freezing cold and you are guaranteed hypothermia if you try to swim, but the pools are just so beautiful and the temptation to wade in is real!
Then we saw the ice.
While we couldn’t see as much of the actual glacier as we had at Sólheimajökull, the part of Skaftafell we could see was covered with far less ash and the brilliant white and blue of the glacial ice were shining through. It was beautiful as to be expected. In reality, if you look at a satellite map, the part of the glacier we see at Skaftafell is like an arm reaching off the main ice sheet of Vatnajökull glacier, an ice flow going down to the glacial pools and rivers off to the sea in the area designated as Skaftafell Park. It is mind blowing to imagine how tiny this part is compared to the rest of the glacier, despite how large it looms before us. Maybe one day we should take a tour and go up to the main ice sheet of Vatnajökull!
We looked over the glacial ice, the pools of water, and the towering mountains including the mighty Hvannadalshnúkur, then it was time to make our way back. As we went along the trail, we passed from the air cooled by the giant glacial ice sheet and back into the sunny warmth, but we still carried that chill with us a bit longer. People walking the trail in short sleeves looked at us as we wore our jackets in the sun. We just smiled, they’ll find out soon enough.
Like the chill we still had in the bones even after we stepped back into the warm air, experiencing something as powerful as a glacier will make for a feeling that will stay with you long after you’ve left the ice behind.
PHOTO GALLERY
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