Hveragerði and The Hot Springs

One of the great side effects to having so much volcanic activity is that Iceland is loaded with natural hot springs. There's something otherworldly about laying in a hot-tub-temperatured stream when it's 40F outside. This was at the top of the list of must-do's when I was planning our trip to Iceland.
Anyone who's been to Iceland will most likely tell you to go to the Blue Lagoon: the commercialized, over priced, prefabricated hot spring pool located 25 minutes away from Keflavik International Airport. I mean I can't say I blame them, the place has become somewhat of a legend in Icelandic tourism, appearing on every travel websites top ten must do lists when traveling to the country. Hell they even try to sell you spa packages on the flight over, like some modified excursion version of SkyMall. I will add that I didn't actually go to the Blue Lagoon so I can't speak from personal experience, but I can tell you that paying $45 for a dip in a crowded pool doesn't even come close to soaking in a natural hot spring in the middle of nowhere, for free. Then again I am biased to any and all hikes off the beaten path, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Almost time.

We set out early for Hveragerði on our second day in Iceland, arriving at one of the Hengill area parking lots mid morning. After a good amount of research I was able to find this Website, which has two really great hiking maps of the area. The plan was to head out on a 3.5 mile loop towards a section of hot springs along a river who's name is impossible to pronounce. This spot, which is frequented by many of the major tour groups out of Reykjavik, is very popular due to it's scenic location and abundance of thermal pools.
The hike up was relatively steep, and as with much of the rest of Iceland due to it's lack of trees, quite windy. We could see for miles in all directions, and there were a few impressive waterfalls and cascades dotting the landscape. Everywhere you looked, steam was bellowing up out of cracks and pools across the landscape making the scene look surreal. We crossed a few sections of the stream as it winded down through the valley, and after about an hour we came across the first few thermal springs, with their blueish/green water.

Blueish Lagoon.

The first one was far too hot to enter, so we made our way up further until we saw a few small groups of people dotting the banks of the stream and realized this was the area we had been looking for. Now at this point I will add that this was Europe, and within the first two minutes we spotted a woman wearing a bit less than you would expect to see at the town pool. As I mentioned something to Nancy, Mark caught wind of it and, being as childish as possible, giggled out loud, quite out loud in fact, loud enough for the woman to have heard. After an extensive scolding, we headed on up the trail to investigate the waterfall at the origins of the stream.
At the edge of the valley lay a large section of hot pots, mud pots and steam vents all expelling their overly pungent sulfur gases. The cliffs around this area were dotted with bird nests and the sky was teaming with their inhabitants. A decent sized waterfall poured down from the cliff face, tucked in a small fold hidden from view. After a solid amount of exploration we headed back towards the banks of the stream where we had seen the people before. By this time most of them were gone and we had our choice of real estate to post up.

Hidden Falls.

Goldilocks like, we picked a good spot and changed into our bathing suits in the chilly weather. Nancy attempted to enter first, picking a section that was much too hot, subsequently belting out four letter words loud enough to wake the stone Trolls from their slumber. Just like Mark's boob giggles, she received her scolding and we entered a much more favorable section of the stream.
I didn't want to leave. After about of hour of soaking I was no closer to being done with this spot, but as with all good things, it had to come to an end. We changed back into our clothes, ate a few snacks and headed back to the car, all the wile discussing how as a group of hikers/travelers we would never quite fit in with the crowd. I promptly tripped over my own two feet near the end of this conversation, solidifying even further the truth of that discussion.

Steamed.

Seek the Peak is this weekend! Thanks to everyone who has donated to my hike thus far, you guys are awesome and you continue to support me year after year, which I am very grateful for, so cheers to you!

Fundraiser page, for those of you who are still interested in making a donation: Wanderlust Seeks the Peak 2014

Mileage: 3.5 Miles

Rolling Hills.

Huh?

Lazguys.

Standard Animal Butt Photo.

GoPro Voyeur.