Without seeing Iceland's glaciers, one knows by the abundance of scree slopes (skriða) throughout Iceland, that they exist. Glaciers break down the land and broken rock fragments accumulate at the base of hamars (crags) and mountain cliffs. Deceptively smooth from a distance!
On my last day of the residency, Alda (one of the residency directors) and her husband, Jon took us on a walk down to the "milky" waters outside of Laugarvatn (an endearing term they give to rivers that looked white from a distance). Once at the river, rather than return the way we came, Jon wanted to follow the river out and asked if anyone might be interested. Most opted not too. His children and Auke followed Jon and I elected to as I wanted to gps a longer walk . Little did I know that I would call this one my "challenge" walk.
As the terrain became rockier and rockier, it became clearer that we would not be able to walk down along the river. Jon pointed up along the hillside, "this way up". Hmm? Straight up a hillside of scree with minimal plants for anchors. Trusting an Icelander (???), I followed along until I was no longer able to establish firm footing in the abundant scree, slipping and sliding with no plants to hold onto. Scree wise?
Somehow, with Aucke's help (and body), I found a way up to meet the others at the top. Thank you Auke!
