Borgarfjörður Eystri
Today we woke up with a hike in mind. We worked out and got ready, but there was a thick fog sticking around. The hike boasted beautiful vistas, so we decided to wait out the fog a bit.
We went a few minutes up the road to a peninsula with a puffin colony on it, a harbor and a café. It was a great place to pass the time. There were tons of puffins very close. The Cafe was delicious. In general Iceland does a good job with hot chocolates. Steve got a cookie and as soon as I asked him how it was, Sage said and signed “me cookie”.
We had a nice call with grandma and grandpa and lunch.
The clouds were starting to clear so we headed to the trailhead. We were hiking to Storurd, which had many trails to it. We decided on a different one out than in for better views and to make the hike easier with only a few steep uphills. The plan would have us finish 2k down the road from where we started. Our plan was for Steve to hitchhike or walk there after we were done.
The walk was incredible with beautiful mountains and valleys all around. There were very few people out too. We kept taking pictures but none seem to really do it justice.
We didn’t really know what “Storurd”, our destination was, other than a valley and a mile+ loop around it.
When we got there we were amazed. The valley was full of these huge boulders with water and lakes flowing along. It looked like something out of a fantasy movie.
The 1+ mile hike around Storurd wne over the streams and up and down the boulders and along lakes. It was a really cool circle around. There was a guest book which Steve signed for us on our way out.
Then up out of the valley and back to the car. It was quite steep up out of the valley. Sage requested Steve run. She didn’t seem too impressed that he had just carried her on his back for 7 miles into Storurd.
The way back was shorter and more direct and once we were out of the Storurd valley it was all steadily downhill, with more mountains, waterfalls and beautiful views. You could see a cloud sitting deep in a valley off in the distance.
Once back at the trailhead my phone said we had gone 9.7 miles. Exhausted Sage and I sat in the parking lot while Steve hustled up to the next parking lot. We sang and laughed and Sage took my hat. We didn’t see any cars going Steve’s way for a long time. Turns out he ran the entire way, 2 km uphill the whole time – what a beast!
It was a great day. We agreed it was a hike we would remember.
It was late, so we decided to go back to the campsite at Borgarfjörður Eystri since it was close.
Unfortunately all of the restaurants in town had closed, so I quickly fed and put Sage to sleep while Steve cooked up some pesto pasta. We agreed tomorrow would be an easy day with no long hikes. I hope Sage sleeps in.