Skóga waterfalls

Having spent more time in the museum than expected, we didn't get away till 11.45. The route follows the east (true left) bank of the Skóga for some 8 kilometres, and passes one amazing waterfall after another. After a while we became almost blazé about it, and I'd wander out to a view point and come back to report "just another 10 metre foss". (Foss is Icelandic for waterfall - one word I'll never forget!)

All told there must have been a couple of dozen big waterfalls and uncountable numbers of small ones. And it was a bright and sunny day with the occasional cloud - just perfect for waterfalls, with the spray often creating rainbows.

Other notable features on the way up Skóga were the curiously shaped peak Hornfellsnipa, strange mounds, the view of the plains and the sea behind us, and the Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull icecaps on either side, getting closer as we climbed. At one point we also saw something take off to the east, leaving an incredibly long contrail - it looked very much like a rocket, but I think the apparent angle was deceptive and it was actually a plane.

We reached the road at about 4pm. A "Many Beautiful Waterfalls" sign here alerts people going the other way that the river route is more scenic than the road. There was no need to ford the river; a pedestrian bridge makes it easy.

We followed the road for another 5 kilometres or so, through a kind of stony desert, to the Baldvinsskali hut, which we reached at about 6pm. Camilla was pretty done in, but after we cooked up a chunky soup (almost a full meal) we felt much better. We had passed just one person since Skógafoss, while crossing the bridge, but now we ran into two parties: a Dutch/Belgian couple with very heavy packs, who had taken two days getting there from Skógar and were heading for the tarn on the other side of the pass, and a French couple who had come up the road and were staying in the hut.

Baldvinsskali is actually a perfectly nice hut, though it lacks running water (you could melt snow) and the views were only exciting. The real reason I wanted to push on was to make sure we reached Þórsmörk the following day early enough to catch the bus. So we set off again at 6.40pm, heading for Fimmvörðuháls pass and the Fimmvörðuskáli hut.

Next: Fimmvörðuháls Pass
Previous: Seljalandsfoss, Skógar, Skógafoss