Western Wild. Landmannalaugar Landscape : Prints Available. Lingering snow fills pockets of the rolling Laughraun Lava Field that last erupted around 1. This particular scene was the initial attraction to visit Iceland and trek Laugevegur, Iceland’s most famous trek and a beautiful study in contrasts. Ten or twelve years ago, we studied photos of a trek in Iceland, colors of the rhyolite lavascape with rising steam and small trekkers moving through this otherworldly land staring back at us. That was the beginning of our growing fascination with Iceland; it just took us awhile getting around to making the journey. ![]() After exhaustive planning (all by Marla), an easy seven hour flight to Reykjavik, and half a dozen bus rides, we were dropped off by the bus equivalent of a monster truck at Landmannalugar, the start of the infamous Laugevegur trek; the landscape draped with thick clouds, land dotted with colorful tents at this launching, and finishing point. As we set up our green Nemo tent, others were gathering giant rocks to stabilize their tent setup, standard practice to prep for an Icelandic storm. Later on in the trip, we would see the logic of the gathering of boulders to hold down a 5 pound nylon structure with thin aluminum beams. Soaking in the Landmannalaugar hot springs, a cool stream fed by a scalding geothermal spring, seeking that perfect balance of hot and cold, yin and yang, suddenly immersed in this alien landscape, all the little travel details drifting away, we would be on the Laugevegur trek in the morning. Moving through the lava field en- route to Hrafntinnusker, a steady wind blowing sideways rain, we followed the well- cairned route non- stop to the hut/camp, draped in pewter clouds. Camp one at Hrafntinnusker is on a mountaintop, but Laugevegur didn’t reveal her beauty right away. The camp rings of obsidian stone help buffer high winds that are common in the Icelandic Highlands. Marla crosses a small stream on day two, a trek from Hraftinnuskercamp to Alfvatn. The stubborn cloud ceiling began to lift. Trekking Laugevegur : Prints Available. Job Interview Practice Test Why Do You Want This Job? Answer this job interview question to determine if you are prepared for a successful job interview. Wildlife art prints plus original paintings with a wide selection from ArtBarbarians.com located in Minnesota. All kinds of nature art that makes a statement in your. Fish and Wildlife Service Evaluating Federal Protection for Whitebark Pine. DENVER – Whitebark pine is a tough tree surviving in poor soils, withstanding. Favorite Spring Things To Do page for ORIC -- Colorado. Boulder Region. Eldorado Canyon State Park. Park rock climbing webpage. Web site of the National Wildlife Refuge System. A pair of trekkers ascend a steep slope in the Laugahraun lava field on the Laugevegur trek. The backdrop of steam from geothermal fumaroles and snowfields is a good example of the contrasts along this multi- day trek, the most famous trek in Iceland. Laugevegur Contrast : Prints Available. Low clouds lift to reveal a contrast of lava field and glacier on the second day of the Laugevegur trek. The glacier wraps Herfsdinger and trekkers cross the glacier’s tongue – a trekker is on the trail crossing ice in the middle right of the frame. This Laughraun lava field last erupted around 1. Alfvatn Landscape : Prints Available. A rugged volcanic landscape surrounds Alfvatn, a lake on the Laugevegur Trek andour campsite after a tough day on the trail. The scene was made more surreal after climbing from the tawny landscape of the Laugahraun lava field, when fifty shades of green were revealed with our goal for the day in view. ![]() Alfvatn Reflection : Prints Available. Volcanoes are reflected in early morning light along the shore of Alfvatn, a beautiful lake on the Landmannalaugar Trek. Black Desert Bloom : Prints Available. The Laugevegur trek in Iceland’s Highlands travels through a black rock desert where sea campion blooms in colorful contrast to the surrounding black landscape. By day three on the Laugevegur Trek, we’d found a rhythm, a pair of trekkers part of the daily pulse on the popular trek. A practiced routine of home- prepared backpacking meals, setting up camp, sleeping off jet lag, and moving nomadically, a dot on the map both daily goal and compass as excitement built for surprises that await. Flight of the Drone Maker How a small firm named AeroVironment is changing the course of airplanes, automobiles, and warfare. See also The Drone Maker’s Story. ![]() Salcombe Harbour and Kingsbridge Estuary in the South Hams district of Devon (© James Osmond/Getty Images) Mount Huangshan in Anhui province, China (© BJI/Blue Jean. Southern Colorado Attractions. Welcome to Southern Colorado Attractions where there is something for everyone! First, I want you to imagine standing in your hotel. Everything is new. We had read about the canyon near Emstrur camp when a fellow trekker told us how cool it is, worth the walk over there. ![]() With camp set up after a 1. M” Canyon, Icelandic names are just too long for more than the first letter. M, and its rich colors blew our minds. Markarfljotsgljufur Canyon : Prints Available. The magnificent Markarfljotsgljufur Canyon is just a kilometer or so from the bustling Emstrur hut and camping area on the Laugevegur trek. Beautiful colors of layered lava and moss and Markarfljot River winding through vertical canyon walls – an extraordinary place for a side trip. The Markarfljot is a glacial river that runs 1. Atlantic, with headwaters on the Myrdalsjokull and Eyjafjnallajokull Glaciers near Hekla Volcano. We would finish the Laugevegur trek at Porsmork the next day, lounging on soft grass, gorging on potato chips from the little camp store, the trek a blur. Ahead, two weeks with no set agenda, a few more bus trips, Reykjavik, a rental car, driving the 8. Icelandic legend tells the story of trolls dragging a three masted ship to land and failing – they turned to needles of stone at daybreak. Krafla Geothermal : Prints Available. Iceland’s largest power plant at the Krafla Volcano site, produces GWh of electricity per hour. The country is run almost entirely on geothermal- generated electricity and hydro power. Iceland takes full advantage of so many volcanoes by using geothermal energy for 8. Skogafoss Plunge : Prints Available. Skogafoss waterfall on the Skoga River plunges 6. Iceland. One of Iceland’s largest waterfalls is also the place of a legend where the first Viking settler Prasi Porolfsson buried a treasure chest in a cave behind the waterfall. Basalt Art : Prints Available. Basalt columns are arranged at all angles in the Vesturdalur area on the Dettifoss to Asbyrgi trek along the Jokulsa a Fjollum (river). Art in stone is everywhere you look in Iceland, an island country formed entirely of lava. Godafoss : Prints Available. Godafoss is a waterfall on the river Skj. When Iceland converted from Heathendom (old custom) to Christianity, the local chieftain tossed his deities/heathen gods into the falls; and according to legend, how Godafoss got its name. Kirjufell Sunrise : Prints Available. Kirkjufell, or . The mountain is wrapped by beaches, a beach trail, and has bird and fish fossils on the summit – guide suggested – people have died climbing the mountain. The waterfall and mountain are one of Iceland’s most- photographed scenes, yet on this cool morning I had the place to myself. Marla descends Asbyrgi Cliffs on a short via ferrata section with fixed rope, stairs and steps. We had trekked from Dettifoss to Asbyrgi along the River Fjollum, this descent adding spice to the finish. Lava Patterns : Prints Available. Ancient patterns give clues of how lava flowed into beautiful lava formations around 1,8. This lava formation is near the namesake Snaefellsjokull Ice Cap in west Iceland on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Snaefellsjokull Climate : Prints Available. The Snaefellsjokull Ice Cap, namesake of the national park is melting rapidly. Here, Marla stands on lava moraine where the glacier may have reached in the last year. Inspiration for the 1. Jules Vernes classic . Crossing Snaefellsjokull National Park on a rutted, lava rock studded road led to the edge of the namesake icecap, moraine fingers advancing where ice was not long ago. We knew the numbers, the icecap shrunk from 1. Icelanders wonder if they’ll still call it Snaefellsjokull when the ice is gone. We changed our plans when Marla said “we have to go up there”. I agreed and we climbed steadily, seeking the highest patch of lava moraine next to the ice, inspecting a crevasse. Studying the ice in silence while watching a snow machine carrying tourists climb slowly up the glacier, we looked into the face of anthropogenic climate change – not always easy to see because the story is written in vanishing ice. Reykjavik Harbor : Prints Available. Colorful boats reflect in Reykjavik Harbor in Iceland’s capital city. Iceland is home to 3. Reykjavik area. Established in 8. AD, Reykjavik became a trading town in 1. Reykjavik is one of the safest, greenest, and cleanest cities in the world. Roughly 1. 7 million tourists visit Reykjavik, as they disperse throughout Iceland. Iceland’s not particularly hard to get to, the flavor of the month (for tourism) nowadays as one bus driver described it, yet you can still get off the beaten path. It’s expensive by any measure, but why not? Iceland is a rock between the Greenland and North Atlantic Seas with a very short season for tourism, and growing vegetables for that matter. Soaking in the Blue Lagoon, one of the attendants from the U. S. You’ll get home and won’t be able to stop thinking of Iceland. You’ll come back, buy a home, and spend at least part of the year here in Iceland.” We started planning the next trip to Iceland before we left for home.
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