Skógafoss, Southern Iceland 5/28/05 - Views From The Top

dr_wu002 · 06-13-2005, 09:06 AM

As you travel east along Route 1 (main drag) in Iceland you start to notice the incredible number of roadside waterfalls. At first you’re like, Wow! A roadside waterfall! But after a while you’ve seen about 7 hundred and fifty thousand of them – who cares though, they’re awesome!

Skógafoss was the first (and still perhaps most incredible) major roadside falls we saw. Set back about ¼ mile from Route 1 in the southern section of Iceland, Skógafoss (foss = waterfall) is 62m high and legend has it there’s a treasure buried behind the falls. There’s a parking area, bathrooms and a free campsite (which we stayed in) and a spot for busses and tourists to park. There’s also a fairly steep trail to the top which a lot of the tourists take. However, there’s a trail that continues on from Skógafoss along the river Skóga for several miles and has an astounding 14 additional waterfalls (some are double falls but we counted those as 1 and also did not count small feeder streams that turn into falls) – some of which are considerably more spectacular then Skógafoss even!

So, we just walked the path for about 4 or 5 miles and then turned around and came back… but this was 8 or 10 miles of magic. That’s the only way you can describe this hike (our first real hike in Iceland) – magic, magical – lush, green rolling hills right out of Lord of the Rings, sheep grazing with nary a farm in sight, two glaciers in the distance (Mýrdalsjökul and Eyjafjallajökull), a deep and wild canyon that river Skóga runs through, and then the waterfalls! Each set was different… some wide, some tall, some really tall, and they were all loud and misty and you can get right up to them, almost close enough to touch.

Perhaps even more amazing is that we had the entire path to ourselves – didn’t see a single person the entire time. The path actually leads into Þórsmörk (pronounced “Thorsmerk” – meaning, Thor’s Land (I think)) which is flanked by Glaciers Mýrdalsjökul and Eyjafjallajökull and supposedly is one of the most beautiful sections in Iceland. There are several mountain huts here. From Þórsmörk the path takes you into the interior to an area called Landmannalaugar (I’ll leave it up to you to pronounce that one) which is even more wild and amazing with its rhyolite mountains, hot springs, glacial walks, and waterfalls. But unfortunately, these destinations would be for another trip. Jess and I actually walked the path up Skógafoss early the next day (that’s when most of these pictures were taken) but decided to turn around before we reached the first hut. We had some driving to do and an entire Island to cover.

There’s about 7 or 8 days of hiking starting at Skógafoss and I intend to go back next Spring to complete this journey. I’ve seen pictures of Þórsmörk and Landmannalaugar and it seems like something right out of Middle Earth and I can’t wait to go back. The pictures and memories just from the trail from Skógafoss alone seem like enough to last a lifetime though, so I’ll need a few brain transplants before I go back – I need the extra memory. Anyone want to join me?

Pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/album/368355867lInWVi

Sneak Peaks:

-Dr. Wu

sli74 · 06-13-2005, 09:07 AM

Keep the gorgeous pictures coming Dr.Wu because I almost have Brian convinced that we need to take a trip to Iceland next year or the year after

sli74

poison ivy · 06-13-2005, 09:42 AM

Really amazing pictures... I could spend all day just cycling through them over and over. Definitely keep 'em coming!

- Ivy

Edited to add: Perhaps the Iceland Tourism Board should pay you a stipend... you may single-handedly put their numbers way up!

Rugger · 06-13-2005, 09:43 AM

I'm only passing thru Iceland this summer on the way to the Scottish Highlands, but after seeing your pic's I think next year is Iceland.

dr_wu002 · 06-13-2005, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sli74

Keep the gorgeous pictures coming Dr.Wu because I almost have Brian convinced that we need to take a trip to Iceland next year or the year after

sli74

Maybe you can convince him to get a 3rd and a 4th job before you go. Prices = pain; $4/can of coke, $5/liter of water

Quote:

Originally Posted by poison ivy

Edited to add: Perhaps the Iceland Tourism Board should pay you a stipend... you may single-handedly put their numbers way up!

I wish... maybe they could just kidnap me and force me to hike around there forever!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rugger

I'm only passing thru Iceland this summer on the way to the Scottish Highlands, but after seeing your pic's I think next year is Iceland.

Next time, maybe I'll go to Iceland for a few weeks and then go over to the Scottish Highlands for a few weeks and then back again! Some of the pictures I've seen of Scottland remind me a lot of Iceland.

-Dr. Wu

Gris · 06-13-2005, 03:18 PM

I'm insanely jealous and now hate you! But thanks for sharing and keep em coming!

ps - tried to pos rep you Wu, but apparently i dont spread my luv around enuff!

dr_wu002 · 06-13-2005, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gris

I'm insanely jealous and now hate you! But thanks for sharing and keep em coming!

ps - tried to pos rep you Wu, but apparently i dont spread my luv around enuff!

Maybe you can give me a red square then. Spread the hate!

I'll have some more trip reports and I'll post more "observation related" things to my live journal account, doctor view. I took lots of puffin pictures and while I think it's not appropriate here I'd like to post 'em somewhere. And other things.

-Dr. Wu

sli74 · 06-13-2005, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr_wu002

I took lots of puffin pictures and while I think it's not appropriate here I'd like to post 'em somewhere. And other things.

-Dr. Wu

Why would Puffin pictures not be appropriate here? Maybe Darren will disagree but I say post them, I'd love to see the puffin pictures, they are afterall part of your fabulous trip to Iceland . . .

sli74

dr_wu002 · 06-13-2005, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sli74

Why would Puffin pictures not be appropriate here? Maybe Darren will disagree but I say post them, I'd love to see the puffin pictures, they are afterall part of your fabulous trip to Iceland . . .

sli74

I might. Maybe Puffin pictures would do because we went on a hike to see them. But for my live journal account maybe I would put things like, observations and comments on travelling. I don't want to overdo it here. I have about 4 or 5 more trip reports to do on hikes for VFTT. Birdcliffs (puffins!!) is one of them. I'm debating the West Fjords as a trip report... we mostly drove it but if you drove it you'd realize what I mean by saying it's the closest thing to hiking I've ever come to without actually hiking. It was perhaps more spectacular than any hike we did in Iceland -- just earthshattering.

You should go! You can do it a lot cheaper (PM me and I can give you info) than we did as we didn't know what to expect! Plus the exchange rate is worse than it was when the Lonely Planet and Rough Guides were written. But I believe you can do the trip for reasonable cost (if money comes into play at all). It's a wonderful country.

-Dr. Wu

sli74 · 06-13-2005, 10:04 PM

Would love advice on how to go about saving money on a trip to Iceland, money unfortunately still always comes into play . . . maybe someday (daydreaming . . .

)

sli74

06-13-2005, 09:06 AM	#1
dr_wu002 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Boontaka, MA Posts: 2,628	Skógafoss, Southern Iceland 5/28/05 As you travel east along Route 1 (main drag) in Iceland you start to notice the incredible number of roadside waterfalls. At first you’re like, Wow! A roadside waterfall! But after a while you’ve seen about 7 hundred and fifty thousand of them – who cares though, they’re awesome! Skógafoss was the first (and still perhaps most incredible) major roadside falls we saw. Set back about ¼ mile from Route 1 in the southern section of Iceland, Skógafoss (foss = waterfall) is 62m high and legend has it there’s a treasure buried behind the falls. There’s a parking area, bathrooms and a free campsite (which we stayed in) and a spot for busses and tourists to park. There’s also a fairly steep trail to the top which a lot of the tourists take. However, there’s a trail that continues on from Skógafoss along the river Skóga for several miles and has an astounding 14 additional waterfalls (some are double falls but we counted those as 1 and also did not count small feeder streams that turn into falls) – some of which are considerably more spectacular then Skógafoss even! So, we just walked the path for about 4 or 5 miles and then turned around and came back… but this was 8 or 10 miles of magic. That’s the only way you can describe this hike (our first real hike in Iceland) – magic, magical – lush, green rolling hills right out of Lord of the Rings, sheep grazing with nary a farm in sight, two glaciers in the distance (Mýrdalsjökul and Eyjafjallajökull), a deep and wild canyon that river Skóga runs through, and then the waterfalls! Each set was different… some wide, some tall, some really tall, and they were all loud and misty and you can get right up to them, almost close enough to touch. Perhaps even more amazing is that we had the entire path to ourselves – didn’t see a single person the entire time. The path actually leads into Þórsmörk (pronounced “Thorsmerk” – meaning, Thor’s Land (I think)) which is flanked by Glaciers Mýrdalsjökul and Eyjafjallajökull and supposedly is one of the most beautiful sections in Iceland. There are several mountain huts here. From Þórsmörk the path takes you into the interior to an area called Landmannalaugar (I’ll leave it up to you to pronounce that one) which is even more wild and amazing with its rhyolite mountains, hot springs, glacial walks, and waterfalls. But unfortunately, these destinations would be for another trip. Jess and I actually walked the path up Skógafoss early the next day (that’s when most of these pictures were taken) but decided to turn around before we reached the first hut. We had some driving to do and an entire Island to cover. There’s about 7 or 8 days of hiking starting at Skógafoss and I intend to go back next Spring to complete this journey. I’ve seen pictures of Þórsmörk and Landmannalaugar and it seems like something right out of Middle Earth and I can’t wait to go back. The pictures and memories just from the trail from Skógafoss alone seem like enough to last a lifetime though, so I’ll need a few brain transplants before I go back – I need the extra memory. Anyone want to join me? Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/368355867lInWVi Sneak Peaks: -Dr. Wu __________________ To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead. -Thomas Paine Last edited by dr_wu002; 06-15-2005 at 09:21 AM.

06-13-2005, 09:07 AM	#2
sli74 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: H: Brighton, MA, Avatar :Brian and I at the 2005 Ski Gathering Posts: 1,776	Keep the gorgeous pictures coming Dr.Wu because I almost have Brian convinced that we need to take a trip to Iceland next year or the year after sli74 __________________ LIFE, I shall persevere! Everytime you knock me down, I will get up stronger.

06-13-2005, 09:42 AM	#3
poison ivy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Mansfield, MA Avatar: Mt. Whitney, CA Posts: 1,357	Really amazing pictures... I could spend all day just cycling through them over and over. Definitely keep 'em coming! - Ivy Edited to add: Perhaps the Iceland Tourism Board should pay you a stipend... you may single-handedly put their numbers way up! Last edited by poison ivy; 06-13-2005 at 09:47 AM.

06-13-2005, 03:18 PM	#6
Gris Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Flyin Thru The Night :-) Posts: 1,241	I'm insanely jealous and now hate you! But thanks for sharing and keep em coming! ps - tried to pos rep you Wu, but apparently i dont spread my luv around enuff! __________________ Buy my new book 'Zen and the Art of Pessimisim,' or not. I guess it doesn't really matter if you read it.

06-13-2005, 10:04 PM	#10
sli74 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: H: Brighton, MA, Avatar :Brian and I at the 2005 Ski Gathering Posts: 1,776	Would love advice on how to go about saving money on a trip to Iceland, money unfortunately still always comes into play . . . maybe someday (daydreaming . . . ) sli74 __________________ LIFE, I shall persevere! Everytime you knock me down, I will get up stronger.

06-13-2005, 09:43 AM	#4
Rugger Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Tyngsboro, MA Posts: 135	I'm only passing thru Iceland this summer on the way to the Scottish Highlands, but after seeing your pic's I think next year is Iceland.

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