On Sunday we decided to see if we could find some good weather. It was raining in Reykjavík like it has been doing for the most part of the summer. We decided to hike to Glymur, the second highest waterfall in Iceland.

Before I go into how amazing the hike was I need to mention a couple of things.

First of all, Iceland is a pretty dangerous country.

Secondly, there are signs everywhere that tell the tourists how to prepare themselves for the danger. This can be seen on the Glymur hiking trail. There are several signs that start at the parking lot informing travellers to wear hiking boots because this route is difficult. The rocks are slippery, it is steep and quite frankly dangerous.

The fact that our rescue services are being stretched too thin because some idiots can’t read the multitudes of signs that are all saying the exactly the same thing: WEAR HIKING BOOTS.

During our hike, we saw so many people completely disregard any safety, both for themselves and for others. So many people were wearing sneakers, that have no grip on those rocks. At one point a rock flew towards us because people were being careless. I saw at least one person slide down a small hill, simply because they were not following the marked path.

That is the end of my rant.

So about the hike itself! From the parking lot to the river the hike is absolutely beautiful. I would recommend that area even though you are not a big hiker. The paths are good, you see beautiful scenery and then you get to walk through a small cave. Just stunning. It is lovely to walk there, look at the flowers, listen to the birds and simply enjoy the Icelandic nature.

After the cave we had to wade across the icy river, barefoot. There was a lot of water in the river and it had overflown the rocks that you can usually walk over. It was quite refreshing to cool down your toes. Especially on the way back.

As you can see there is a string that you can hold on too. It wasn’t hard, but we saw one person fall down and several groups of people decide not to continue with the hike. The water was quite deep and reached my calf, and did I mention it is icy cold water. The current in the water is quite strong so you need to go in with determination.

Crossing the river was the easiest part of the hike. The path is very narrow, it is steep and you need to use the ropes to get along. On this path there is also the risk of falling rocks, so you need to be careful about waiting until people are not on certain paths until you walk so you don’t accidentally kill them. Basic hiking rules.

Also, because the path is narrow it is very hard to either overtake someone or go past them coming from the other direction. The entire path has been marked with yellow dots or metal poles that are easily visible. And if you follow them the risk of you falling to your death is not as high as if you decide to go off path.

Was the hike worth it? Yes, totally! It was amazing, I am glad we went in the morning before the real traffic started. Because there was traffic getting up there.

Would I recommend everyone to go up there? No, it is a difficult route. We have been hiking a lot for the past two months. Most evenings we do go on a long walks, hike some smaller mountains, walk some hills. Most of those walks are around 4-10km and I was exhausted when we got to the higher lookout area. I could not walk further. I was done!

That is it for today.

-Katrin