Múlagljúfur & Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
Since we were staying at the hotel on site we got into the Viking village and Stokksnes for free, so we went in twice. The first time was the evening prior and the second this morning. The day started by going into the Viking village which was cool from a distance, but not great up close. It was still neat to see the Viking Village, even if it's just a poorly done replica anyway. Then we went to Stokksnes and took photos of the Vesturhorn, the same mountain that we had taken last night. The lighting wasn't great, and the lighting was better yesterday anyway, so we didn't spend much time there before heading on our way to the next destination.
We started driving back down the coast towards Reykjavik since we only had a few nights left in Iceland. We were both completely exhausted, so we decided to start the hike we planned to do and turn around after the first waterfall so that we didn't kill ourselves on the hike. The waterfall was in the Múlagljúfur Canyon and it was a gorgeous area. Even though it was right off the main Ring Road, there were hardly any people there, which was great. In our sneakers and without our packs, it was a manageable hike to the first waterfall, despite us not knowing how far that waterfall actually was. However, because of the hiking adrenaline, we ended up finishing the hike which was a very tough hike that packed a lot of elevation gain (1,500 ft) in a short distance (4 miles round trip). I'm not sure how we managed to do it with how tired we both were, but we're a little crazy like that. The canyon itself was stunning. It was really cool at the summit of the hike seeing a waterfall falling out of the glacier. You could see exactly where that water was coming from. It was such a neat hike and a gorgeous canyon in that we were both delighted we finished the hike, even if it left us dead.
Afterward, we kept driving until we made it to Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon. This one was much more touristy, and a much shorter hike. The canyon itself was okay, but nothing compared to the Múlagljúfur Canyon that we had just come from. That stop was more or less to break up the long 3 hours of driving that we did today into 1-hour chunks.
We got to our cabin for the evening just outside of Vik, made and ate dinner (where the smoke alarm went off even though there wasn't any smoke in the air), and then crashed hard so that we were well-rested for our ice cave adventure tomorrow.
5.42 mi
3.3 hrs
1,453 ft
1,735 ft
Viking Village
From a distance, the Viking Village looked pretty cool and neat. It's no surprise they use this area for movies, especially with the towering mountains.
Viking Boat
There was a viking boat in the harbor next to the Viking Village.
House Past the Fence
There was a lone building outside of the fence from the Viking Village.
Village Commons
There was a larger building in the Viking Village for the commons area. None of the buildings were open for us to go inside of, but this one had a covered walkway in front of the building.
Grass Roof
Many of the buildings in the Viking Village had grass on top. We saw several other buildings in Iceland that were the same way as well.
Vesturhorn In Clouds
When we were here the previous evening there weren't as many clouds. With this view looking to the North, the lighting was also a little better in the evening.
Múlagljúfur Canyon
We started hiking Múlagljúfur Canyon and immediately knew this would be a spectacular hike.
Bunch Of Goofballs
We made it to the first waterfall without any problems. We were both a little crazy from the hiking adrenaline from these great views.
Looking Back
As we got further in the hike the view looking back got more and more incredible.
River Fork
I found a particularly dangerous outcropping to look over, in which I found two rivers (from glacier waterfalls) merging into one. I didn't know this was dangerous when I was doing it, but that dropped is several hundred feet. After all, we started at ground level and hiked up nearly 1,500 feet in elevation to get to this point. One misstep on the soft, squishy moss could have been disastrous. But it was cool to get to that close to the edge, all while Katie and a stranger had a shared experience of anxiety caused by my impending death.
Canyon Summit
This was the highest point in the canyon that we could get to. The views looking to the North were incredible with the glacier.
Summit Selfie
We took a quick selfie at the top of Múlagljúfur Canyon while trying to balance not falling over the edge into the canyon.
Glacier Water
Two waterfalls that we saw on this hike were pouring directly from the massive glacier above the canyon.
Canyon to Ocean
One of the cool things about Iceland was the towering landscapes right next to the ocean. We had this massive canyon to hike in all while being able to see the ocean in the distance.
Gorgeous Canyon
We only hiked two canyons in Iceland and this one was our favorite. Maybe partially due to lighting, but this canyon was just stunning.
Crazy Gins
The delusion had kicked in at this point since we were on our way back from the hike.
Iceandic Mushroom
I found a great mushroom that I could get the bottom gills of in the shot. The Icelandic moss surounding it made it a perfect Icelandic scene, even if Iceland isn't known for their mushrooms.
Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
OUr second stop of the day was to Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon which had a different landscape than the previous canyon. This canyon wasn't nearly as deep and the rocks were more vertical rather than sloping.
Pretty Water
The water at the base of this waterfall was a pretty teal color.
