Thrainn Kolbeinsson

Memories from: the Highlands (Part II)

a short visual story from one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen

While going through the archives I thought of kicking off a new series called ‘Memories from...‘ where I‘ll put together short visual stories from adventures of the past.

This one is really special and full of great memories and new friendship. I had only met Gabor Nagy once when we decided to go on a trip into the highlands of Iceland. We didn’t have a strict schedule but Gabor had researched the area extensively (he actually has a PhD in highlandsology) so we were bound to see magic. From beginning to end we had a great time exploring the highlands of Iceland.

In a mighty Jimny we drove into some deep corners of the highlands for some unique experiences (it handled everything like a boss). This particular place was the last area we explored during the trip, and it’s been stuck in mind ever since. Sleepless and with sore legs, we spent the whole day hiking along these lakes in some beautiful conditions.

This is one of those places where going high is the only way to give any sense of the immensity of the place. Countless lakes of different colours, craters here and there and some beautiful river patterns on the other side. Langisjór should be high on your list if you’re planning on visiting the highlands.

In the evening we hiked up the highest peak of the area for some even more mind-blowing views (will make a separate post later). Although it was a surprisingly short trip when I think about everything we saw, this was a trip of a lifetime and a beginning of a great friendship. Stay tuned for more memories in the future (strange sentence…).

The days were getting longer, birds were singing and a few Icelanders had even started smiling again. Most of us thought winter was over and spring was just around the corner, right until Iceland was hit with one last breath of winter. It only lasted a day or two, but it painted the whole country white. This basically happens every year but we’re always very surprised.

A few days before the storm, Þorsteinn Roy and I had planned to do something that day, but the weather had been getting worse and when the day came most of the roads were being closed and. As every responsible person would do, we called it off. But only for a few hours.

It‘s no fun being all excited and pumped for an activity and then find yourself picking your nose and reheating old coffee because let‘s face it, the day has been ruined and everything sucks.

Just outside Grindavík (where I live), there‘s a small mountain (and yes, it’s a mountain) called Thorbjörn and we decided to head out and give it a go. We started the hike, hail to the face, thinking that this trip wouldn’t be for the views since the visibility was close to zero. Even though most of the time we couldn’t see far, we could still experience this place in some pretty unique conditions. With our cameras’ viewfinders full of snow and frozen LCDs we still kept shooting but had to wait until we got home to actually see the results.

The top of the mountain is split by a canyon called Thieves’ canyon. According to legend, it was the hideout for 15 thieves that had been stealing from the local farmers. They were finally caught and hanged from a nearby rock (will make a seperate post from that place). We attempted to go through the canyon but the snow was way to heavy and it got a bit sketchy at one of the drops, so we went another way around.

To keep the story short, about 3 hours later, two smiling faces with frozen snotsicles (yep, it’s a word) came down the other side of the mountain. The perfect way to say goodbye to winter and welcome the next seasonal chapter.

EDIT: Watch a feel-good clip from the hike by Thorsteinn Roy.