The insulted down booties were a game changer last night. I had also stuffed my face into my sleeping bag and pulled the hood over my head, keeping myself warm through my breath. Technically, that was a rookie mistake as it would just get your sleeping bag wet on the inside, but I was near civilization so I wasn’t worried about it.
I packed up then went inside the campground building to ask the worker a question when a couple of foreign guys hopped in front of me. They asked if she could exchange their paper money into coins. She had to go in the back which took a while and I noticed myself getting antsy.
When it finally came time for my turn, I asked, “Hey, are there any good local breakfast places around here you can recommend?”
“No, only the gas station across the street.”
I walked over there, ordered a coffee and a croissant. When I turned around to go looking for a table, I caught an older gentleman smiling at me as if he was in awe. I plopped my bag down on the floor and turned around to find him approaching me.
“Hey, I noticed you have an AT tag and other patches on your pack. Did you get your triple crown?”
“Yeah!” I said. “It’s so cool how you know what that is.”
“Yeah, I actually plan on thru-hiking the AT in the middle of March.”
“What?! No way! I’m so excited for you! That is going to be awesome!”
Then I met his wife. They were from Alabama. He asked me which way I was headed and that he would love to give me a ride. I would’ve loved to join, however we were going opposite directions. I even contemplated going back the other way just to hang out with them, however Spirit guided me to keep moving counterclockwise and trust in the unfolding.
He handed me 5,000 krónur. “Here’s some trail magic for you.”
I blushed. “Oh, thank you so much!”
His wife was so excited for his goal to complete a thru-hike of the AT. “He watches all the little videos about it,” she said.
“It’s going to change his life,” I said.
He was 60, going over all of the medication he takes on a daily basis for his chronic and non-chronic pains.
“Whatever,” he said smiling, completely not letting it stop him from following his dream.
His wife helped splay out my paper map on the table as she pointed out all of the places worth stopping. Once again, the Icelandic words stumped me.
She goes, “The locals said if you can at least pronounce the first few letters and then mumble the rest that they’ll figure out what you’re talking about.”
She mentioned museums and whale watching tours to visit, however I was more interested in hiking spots.
“I don’t know if you knew,” she said, “but it’s actually illegal to camp anywhere outside of a campground.”
“What?! I had no idea. I’m glad you said something.” My goal for the trip was actually to camp along trails but nothing came of it due to there being no trees, so I always settled on the campgrounds.
“Yeah, you will get fined,” she said, “the land is very protected here.”
“As it should be.”
Before we left the gas station, they asked if I needed anything else. I smiled and said no thanks, then they made space in their van for me and took me back up to the main road. They dropped me off at a perfect spot with a pull out, however there was one car standing directly in the way which prevented me from being able to hitch a ride. An entire line of cars passed within seconds and I stood there feeling aggravated. When the car left, I stuck my thumb out and the next vehicle happened to be the same girls from yesterday. We all started laughing at the synchronicity.
I opened the door and said, “Oh my god, I don’t want to intrude on your plans!”
“No! You’re not!” Addison said, “we didn’t know if you wanted to be with new people.”
They had me hop in then asked if I was okay taking scenic trails around the area and not staying directly on the main highway.
“Fuck yeah!” I said. “I’m just here for the ride.”
Another life lesson from the Universe: I’m always in the right place at the right time. I didn’t have to get all stressed when I was waiting in line or when I couldn’t hitchhike because the car was blocking me. If it weren’t for those moments, I wouldn’t have met the aspiring thru-hiker nor would I have gotten picked up by the same women that I loved traveling with. A reminder that I can always relax into the now and trust it is all working out in my favor.
I asked again if I could give them any gas money but they didn’t allow it.
“No no, that’s so sweet of you, but no,” Mabel said. “We already planned on doing this trip.”
We took it slow today as there weren’t a crazy amount of things to see other than open, barren fields beside the scenic scape of the ocean. We went exploring down bumpy dirt roads and drove through several kilometer long carved out tunnels through the center of mountains. We explored shorelines and collected bright white swan feathers while people rolled down soft pebbled lava hills, laughing while doing so. Tourists laid on their backs and spread out like starfishes beside the waves, basking in appreciation for the sun’s rays and momentary lack of harsh wind.
We stopped at a local cafe, mainly because I had to pee, but figured I’d buy a sandwich to use their bathroom facilities.
The girl at the register took notice of my macramé rings and said, “I want to keep looking at them. I just find them so beautiful.”
She closed the register after I paid so she could focus on them more.
“Which one is your favorite?” I asked as she held my hand in hers, looking at each one individually.
“I love earth tones,” she said. “The green!”
“Here, it’s yours,” I said.
“No no no I cannot take that,” she said. “I just charged you for your food, I would have given it to you—“
I brushed her off. “Yes you can! Here.”
I took it off my finger and slid it onto hers as she smiled wide and started blushing. “Thank you.”
We stopped to do a couple of random waterfall hikes we found along the way, one being on a private property that the owner allowed tourists to walk through. The waterfalls didn’t do much for me, but the actual trail to them did. I could feel winter coming in the way the sun felt and by how it reflected upon the drying leaves. The protective feeling of being surrounded by tall pines and cedars was just what I needed. We rock hopped to the plateau, holding onto the grounded plants for stability until the views opened up to a roaring waterfall.
After that trek, we stopped at a lighthouse and looked beyond the sheer lava cliffs. The wind had picked up again, giving way to strong waves. We hopped back in the car and let a flock of sheep cross the road. We had become more watchful of sheep during the drive since farmers started herding them off the mountains earlier than usual this year.
At the end of the day, we drove through snow-covered mountain ranges with red-roofed houses scattered at the base. Caribou relaxed near barbed wire fence lines while I spent my time thinking about getting ready to place myself out into the cold again.
We arrived at a town called Egilsstaðir and parked at the campground we all planned to stay at. They offered to let me sleep in their van, however it wasn’t feasible. I would have had to lay on the table or morph myself underneath it. Otherwise, I could’ve slept in the passenger seat which didn’t feel too exciting. We decided it would be best to part ways again.
I accidentally walked into the hostel entrance rather than the campground office then figured ‘fuck it.’ I got a spot in the co-ed dorm. Tonight, I would have the luxury of a warm bed with extra fluffy blankets and a black out curtain.
Before I got too cozy, I hung out in the living room, tracing over my map route. I went to the kitchen and saw a girl finishing up some delicious smelling food. I had seen her in the kitchen a couple hours back, however now the meal she had been working on was coming to an end.
She offered me to eat and I happily accepted even though it was everything I hated (tofu, vegetables, broth). Somehow it tasted magical after having not been able to feel my fingers and toes.
“Where are you from?” I asked.
“Germany,” she said as she started making a side of flour tortillas from scratch, expressing how ecstatic she felt that I was eating her food. “I used to make food for my roommates, but I’ve been traveling for two months so I haven’t received the pleasure of giving and watching people receive.”
She was a nurse so it made sense as to why she was naturally very nurturing. She handed me a fresh plate of tortillas to pair with the curry-like soup. White flour was on her cheek and forehead. I smiled and decided not to tell her since I found it cute. I thanked her for warming me up with the hearty meal. She even gave me an entire tupperware container of the meal to take with me on my travels.
