The Hike, Proposal, and USA drop in (obviously not in order of magnitude)
- Nicole Behm
- Aug 22, 2021
- 6 min read
The last 2 days in Iceland were full of surprises. As hoped for, once the weather began to clear up we booked a return bus ticket from Thórsmörk to Skógafoss so we could hike the Fimmvörðuháls hike point to point going in to the valley….a total of 16 miles. There was only 1 bus that leaves the valley daily as it is rugged terrain, requires 4x4 (at least, there were many 4x4 vehicles that struggles to make it into the valley) and takes about 2 hours.....but that was then end of the journey, so back to the beginning: We started fairly early (it was a "Kyle sunrise" which means the sun was well overhead by the time we started) after camping at the base - once again in the Dokker. The first step of the hike was a stair, followed by a few hundred additional stairs. Luckily, Nicole already had her coffee so no complaints were made. We then ascended through the valley alongside Skóga River, where many trail reports had mentioned 11-25 waterfalls. We tried to keep track but quickly lost count as we began debating exactly what height of tumbling water constitutes a waterfall and what doesn't (Kyle forgets he is an UNEMPLOYED engineer and doesn't need to overthink these things for the time being)….however, we can tell you, official or not, each part of the valley was breathtaking. After about 5 miles the landscape switched to recent volcanic rock (as opposed to "old" volcanic rock, or "ancient" volcanic rock, or "we're-starting-to-get-tired-of" volcanic rock. At this point we started to see snow on the trail as we progressed between the Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull glaciers (seriously, we are offering real cash money in leftover Krona for whoever gets these pronunciations correct). We hiked for about another 3 miles to reach Baldvinsskali mountain hut - our halfway point - and to stop for a little lunch. It was very cold, windy, and had minimal shelter so we ate and moved quickly on. The snow trekking was easier than we expected, well packed but not enough to be icy/slippery. We climbed up Módi, a side trail up a mountain formed by the most recent eruption in April of 2010 for a fantastic panorama before continuing on.
After crossing Fimmvörðuháls pass, directly between the glaciers, we began the decent into Thórsmörk valley. Nothing could have prepared us for the amazing views and the drastic landscape change. After stunning views of steep, moss-covered cliffs into the valley there was a cliff crossing that required the use of a chain in order to hang on to the trail and keep from tumbling down. For some groups ahead, the task was a bit overwhelming. So while we waited for those in front of us to continue, we made friends with the group building up behind us on the trail. A couple from the Netherlands that was around our age (our age is currently "hopefully still look young for 30" in case you were wondering) and when we continued they hiked at about the same pace as us. This was a blessing and a curse, as we were able to make friends and swap photo opportunities, but we lost out on what was mostly a solitude hike up until that point. After 5 or 6 times of passing, or being passed by, the other couple, Nicole decided that we needed to power hike to put some distance and stop the awkward hello/goodbyes that were continually being swapped. At another beautiful area, Kyle suggested that we take another photo. We already had more than enough photos of this beautiful hike for a lifetime, but Kyle seemed eager so we obliged. However, in order to stay in front of the other couple, Nicole decided to set up the tripod for her camera for the first time (to Kyle's dismay, which was odd at the time). The photo turned out great, but Kyle checked in for an extraordinarily long time and decided it was terrible....coincidentally, this gave the Netherlands couple enough time to catch up to us once again. While Nicole stood on the cliffside photo spot and waited, slowly trending from simply annoyed to actually angry (see eye rolling photos below), Kyle BS'd with the couple and asked for another photo (actually a video this time, which we will get to). He then fumbled and bumbled (his words) around with something in his bag, and stumbled (his forced rhyme too) down to the photo spot. Before I knew it, Kyle was down on one knee with a ring, asking me to marry him. After 7 years and15 miles into a hike, I knew the answer was yes! (Sorry volleyball squad, the ring was never really buried in the sand at Sinnott's)
Fortunately (or not…..you decide), since Kyle had asked the couple to take a video instead of photo….we had a great glimpse into my mood change from the previously mentioned eye-roll/WTF look straight into the happiest moment of my life, or pretty dang close to ;). The last mile of the hike down to the river was amazing, not only due to the views but also from the excitement of knowing Kyle is now stuck with mandatory coffee mornings, camping trips, and 16 mile hikes forever <3. Boy did he get lucky……:)
We finished with a few celebratory beers with our new freinds at the end of the hike, and all took the buss back to Skógafoss. Kyle and I then drove to Selfoss, again slept in our camper van (such romantitcs: get engaged, eat freeze-dried food and drink hose-water, and sleep in a van) and woke up early to head back to Reykjavík. We stopped in the morning at the city geothermal hot springs, where we boiled breakfast in a bubbling pool, before heading to the hospital to get our COVID test that would allow us to fly home. Within 20 minutes, our test came back negative and we spent the last day exploring the city, and calling our families over a beer to share the news, along with packing, and preparing to return the Dokker (saying goodbye is never easy, we already miss you buddy). We stayed our last night in the same hotel we had gotten stranded in our first night, and dropped off the Dokker (tears are still flowing) to head to the airport. Our flights had yet again cancelled/changed times and connection locations, but we are beginning to realize this will be a continued part of travel during COVID. Showing test results to enter the USA was essentially seamless and we still somehow made it to Vegas an hour earlier than anticipated.
We spent the next 3 days sitting poolside/blackjack table side celebrating Grandma Helen’s 80th birthday (happy birthday Grandma! Let's go even harder for the 81st!) and enjoyed sharing our news with friends and family. Once it was time to take off from Vegas, we knew we had time to get back to Nebraska so we decided to visit Arches National Park, climb a 14er in Colorado, visit family in Colorado and western Nebraska, before finally hitting home base in Nebraska for a week. We had PLENTY to finish before heading to Rome and spent the week with friends/family/finishing up items we hadn’t completed before we left last time. We stayed in Omaha the night before and hit the airport early to fly out. Thanks to all of Kyle's family for letting us crash the Vegas party, and thank you so much for those of you who let us stay (both sets of parents especially!!) Kyle also wants to include a special shout out to the blackjack dealers who dealt hot cards that weekend.
The next part of our journey started with an incredibly cheap flight via TAP Portugal Airlines (look it up if you're travelling to Europe soon!...or maybe not as you read ahead). Our connection was through Lisbon, Portugal and we had a 7 hour layover. Initially we stopped in Chicago - at which point we realized Portugal requires a negative test within 72hours of flying - even if vaccinated (Italy just required proof of vaccine). We scrambled to find testing in or near Chicago Ohare and fortunately were able to…..at 3x the cost of what it was in Iceland (the first time Iceland was cheap for anything, thanks US Health Care system!). We received our negative results within 20 minutes and were able to get into our flight on time. We had downloaded a map of Lisbon and planned to check our bag and go explore the city for 3-4 hours before coming back to the airport. When we asked security if that was allowed with all things COVID, they laughed and said it’s allowed but 7 hours is not nearly enough time to get through the customs line with enough room to spare. We were baffled until they explained the border police were on strike - meaning there was next to no one processing incoming flights to pass into Portugal and we were stuck in the airport. 4 hours later (that's like waiting in line for Space Mountain 6 times)….we had finally made it through the line, checkpoints, and security, with a bit of time for lunch to spare. We were so thankful someone let us know what was happening or we would have never made our flight, and can gladly say our first strike interruption abroad didn’t delay us at all (though the line was not the most pleasant, to say the least, but we avoided most of the outbursts and brawls that were happening elsewhere). We grabbed some lunch and headed to the gate, where we end this post.
See you soon, Italy!
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