The morning is clouded and rainy as predicted. Slow breakfast, book-reading, movie, packing and last lunch. A pair of swans lives on the bay.
At two o'clock everybody comes to escort me towards the pass. I realize it too late that Disa and Robert stay behind and so I miss the chance of saying properly goodbye to them. I follow in the captain's footprints that show me where to step and where not to step. Heavy bag presses me into the ground. Stubbornness and bacon fat keep me going. When snow begins then escort leaves with hugs, expecting me to come back alive. Promising.
More snow, visibility is soon reduced to zero. When resetting GPS just before then I obviously also deleted the coordinates for the pass and have to navigate according to height contours now. It's more and more steep and with every third step I sink over knee into snow with ever louder swearing. I can only see a few meters of steep snow around me. Rest every few steps, feet are wet and I'm getting hungry. According to previous experience crying doesn't help. When something like an edge comes into view above then the GPS battery dies. I wasn't expecting that so soon so the spares are packed deep into the bag. Too risky to start unpacking on this steep and wet place so I continue upwards. Before the pass is an impressive crevasse. Dozen meters without snow on the pass. It took me four hours to get up here. Change the battery, have a snack. Then down towards two lakes that serve as next waypoints. The trail actually goes from the other side of the lakes to Hornvík but I make a shortcut directly to Kýrskarð pass. First everything is again white, then some patches of rock start to appear. A hazy black-and-white world. The lakes are covered in snow but visible. Short picnic and forward on the height contours. The pass should be about the same height.
Suddenly I see sun shining on the mountainside when I look back. It clears up over the pass I just came from and soon the whole valley is fogless, across the valley sun plays with pieces of cloud. I stand there for half an hour to enjoy this light show put up just for me, ignoring the dark blue mass that is gathering behind me. Some bird whistling above. Typical Iceland, one moment you curse your guts out, next moment you're struck with amazement. Eventually it seems that the cloud will take over, it gets chilly but some blue sky appears to be over the mountain range that I have to cross. Steeper slope, loose rocks, a lot of possibilities to fall off the mountain. I see some trolls and hear them laughing at me. When Hornvík comes into view is there another light-show, the valley clears up and I sit about an hour on a rock near the pass to look at it. A picnic with two views. Hopefully sun also shines in Hesteyri. It's past eleven o'clock. Then darkness quickly sneaks over the pass and only golden haze is left above the bay.
On the pass is a trail mark and the trail itself. Something new. From here on everything will be like a walk in the park. I can first hear the sea and then see it. And the lighthouse. A midnightfox comes along the path, makes a detour five meters from me and continues on the path behind me. A bit to my left a huge amount of water falls into the sea but I'm too tired to have a closer look. It won't go anywhere.
A picnic table next to the lighthouse, must be the campsite. No-one to see. A dark fog approaches very fast from the sea so I hurry to put up the tent. But fog just moves quietly inland and nothing happens. I boil water and have tea, sitting at the table and looking at foaming waves. Too tired to make dinner, some sweets are good enough.
More snow, visibility is soon reduced to zero. When resetting GPS just before then I obviously also deleted the coordinates for the pass and have to navigate according to height contours now. It's more and more steep and with every third step I sink over knee into snow with ever louder swearing. I can only see a few meters of steep snow around me. Rest every few steps, feet are wet and I'm getting hungry. According to previous experience crying doesn't help. When something like an edge comes into view above then the GPS battery dies. I wasn't expecting that so soon so the spares are packed deep into the bag. Too risky to start unpacking on this steep and wet place so I continue upwards. Before the pass is an impressive crevasse. Dozen meters without snow on the pass. It took me four hours to get up here. Change the battery, have a snack. Then down towards two lakes that serve as next waypoints. The trail actually goes from the other side of the lakes to Hornvík but I make a shortcut directly to Kýrskarð pass. First everything is again white, then some patches of rock start to appear. A hazy black-and-white world. The lakes are covered in snow but visible. Short picnic and forward on the height contours. The pass should be about the same height.
Suddenly I see sun shining on the mountainside when I look back. It clears up over the pass I just came from and soon the whole valley is fogless, across the valley sun plays with pieces of cloud. I stand there for half an hour to enjoy this light show put up just for me, ignoring the dark blue mass that is gathering behind me. Some bird whistling above. Typical Iceland, one moment you curse your guts out, next moment you're struck with amazement. Eventually it seems that the cloud will take over, it gets chilly but some blue sky appears to be over the mountain range that I have to cross. Steeper slope, loose rocks, a lot of possibilities to fall off the mountain. I see some trolls and hear them laughing at me. When Hornvík comes into view is there another light-show, the valley clears up and I sit about an hour on a rock near the pass to look at it. A picnic with two views. Hopefully sun also shines in Hesteyri. It's past eleven o'clock. Then darkness quickly sneaks over the pass and only golden haze is left above the bay.
On the pass is a trail mark and the trail itself. Something new. From here on everything will be like a walk in the park. I can first hear the sea and then see it. And the lighthouse. A midnightfox comes along the path, makes a detour five meters from me and continues on the path behind me. A bit to my left a huge amount of water falls into the sea but I'm too tired to have a closer look. It won't go anywhere.
A picnic table next to the lighthouse, must be the campsite. No-one to see. A dark fog approaches very fast from the sea so I hurry to put up the tent. But fog just moves quietly inland and nothing happens. I boil water and have tea, sitting at the table and looking at foaming waves. Too tired to make dinner, some sweets are good enough.
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