Day 17 - hiking and departure

Breakfast again at 8-ish, scrambled egg with fresh fruit, the ever present blueberries, granola and yoghurts.

Chuck it all on the same plate

This mornings activity, we will hike up to the top of the hill/mountain next to the house for a better view of the glacier.  This re-activated all my not-quite-healed blisters from the L trail going up, thankfully I and taken blister block and could put them on when we stopped for a snack. There was no real trail, just a matter of picking our way up and up and up..... The section of rocks mixed with moss was the most tricky, just waiting to wreck an ankle or already manky toe.

The lava layers were in steps, each representing a new eruption, with the rocks around 18 million years old. The eastern and western parts of Iceland are being pushed apart by the movement of the north American and Eurasian  plates. 

The mountain tops in the area are all flat due to being covered in 2-3 miles of ice all those millions of years ago.  The glacier used to terminate at the sea of the fjord, but has receded up the valley.

Snack stop. The white patch on the hill in the middle is the receding glacier.

The rocks are loose and move under foot.

Sheridan told us about a past guest who broke their ankle up here while hiking. There are only 2 rescue helos in Iceland apparently, and they were both busy with a multiple casualty event. So he had to carry her down the hill himself, piggy back style. Amazing that he didn't break his own ankle!

I have been surprised at the number and variety of mushrooms we've seen, both on the L trail and hiking around here. I didn't think it would be warm enough, but it obviously is.

Mushrooms pop up in random places

Back to the house for lunch, reheated fish soup, still as tasty as day 1. Plus there was some spicy chick pea dish.

The rest of the afternoon was spent snapping foxes, in the sauna, reading books and knitting.

A hiking group appeared as we were eating lunch and occupied the dining room. Mostly French, we've met so many this time around. As the rest of us sat in the lounge, one of the Frenchies came in, plonked himself in the armchair, legs splayed, arms flopping over the side of the chair, and fell asleep!  Well, based on the snoring, we assume he was asleep, the eye closest to me was still open, which was kinda creepy. Heidi and I were in fits of laughter.

The rest of the group.

It was a good bunch who were all very nice and friendly, all pitching in to help with setting the table and schlepping stuff up and down the death stairs to the kitchen.

Heidi and Clemens were from Austria (not Australia as Kyle first thought, it's a whole different country) Heidi works in an office for a company that makes machines for cutting mountain bike trails.  I did not know such equipment existed.

Sam from Conneticut - Sam is an author of children's books (teens really) that have a Nordic theme and she is in Iceland to do research for her books. She has two published already (Sam Taylor - We are the Fire,  & Madsi the True, thanks google) and another in progress. She has two boys, 7 and 5, the youngest called Oak who has Downs Syndrome (thanks instagtam)

I initially dubbed her the neurotic knitter, as she was frequently in the lounge knitting a rather complicated lacey pattern, and having to unravel several rows at a time because she had made a mistake. Her friend has a fibre dying business and had dyed the tencel she was knitting with. She had made a comment early on in the trip about "needing  a lot of wool to get through this election cycle" so I figured she is not a Trump fangirl 🤣. Her insta pages also show she can't stand RFK and was unhappy with his comments about autism, and how we need to find out what is causing the increase in diagnosis.

Kyle + wife + Jace

Kyle and his wife (I never did find out her name - oops) and kid are from Hong Kong, and you can imagine my delight at having an 8 year old on the trip. Sigh. But he was very well behaved and polite, and kayaked with his Dad like a star. He had a very minor meltdown the last morning and was sent back to bed, asleep in seconds, just overtired. His Mum stayed with him to sleep while we hiked the hill, and they came up to meet us as we returned, his usual happy nature restored.

Barb and Bill - Barb has the blog details so may read this, so I can only say nice things 😊

They are from Naples Florida, both now retired from health care positions. Barb doesn't hear too well, and day 1 her hearing aids were flat.  Bill said he was along as the repeater, which made me laugh. She has also had both knees replaced, and you would never tell. She was very fit and had great balance, and coped with the death stairs like a pro. They love high altitude hiking and have done 35 days hike in Bhutan, which is one of the most difficult ones you can do. They lost a fellow hiker on the trip. They also hiked the Tepui in Venezuela and one in Mexico (I think) that has masses of Bromeliads.  They are off to Greenland next.

The boat that was coming to pick us up at 6 - 6:15 did not arrive until 7pm, and another 3 x loads of gear, kayaks, bags etc ferried back to the boat on the IRB.

Waiting for the boat

Another hour back to shore in Isafjordur, goodbyes on the dock and schlepping our gear to the van, and head to the campsite for a leftover rehydrated meal for dinner. Not chef quality, but by 9pm dinner I would have eaten anything.