To the lagoon [Hofn > Skaftafell -- 83mi ]

world's smallest gas station?

Turned out from Hofn at a decent hour and aside from after the first couple hours of crosswind, had a nice tailwind for a good chunk of the day. I dispatched with 50mi before I even stopped for lunch... and what a place to take a break:

Jokulsarlon ("Glacial Lagoon")

This was the famous Glacial Lagoon between the edge of the Breidamerkurjokull glacier and the Atlantic Ocean. As ice chunks calve off the tip of the glacier (which is a toe of Vatnajokull, Europe's largest glacial icecap) they are held up in the lagoon before eventually melting small enough to float out to sea. Interestingly, in terms of geologic time, this lagoon just began a second ago. In the 1950's as the glacier retreated melted, the once fast flowing river at its terminus began to fill the void left behind by the glacier, and the ice chunks now choke up at the outlet to the sea. Another interesting side effect is that the seashore is eroding by 8meters per year now, because sediment that was once deposited by the river now settles out in the lagoon and does not replenish the sea's erosion forces. So eventually they expect the shore to erode far enough inland that the 167m long suspension bridge and highway are swallowed up.

Glaciers also leave behind some pretty cool remnants aside from massive fjords and scenic valleys:

balanced rock in the evening sun

I made it to the Svenafell campground for the night. This area is part of a national park, so it's discouraged to free-camp (I've heard you can be issued a ticket, although the next day I saw some folks camped openly. Oh well, not a bad place to camp, plus they had a nice kitchen.)

Svenafell campground

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A note on drinking water: Another relatively unique perk making this trip easier is the fact that all free-flowing freshwater is considered safe to drink without filtering or treatment. Aside from geothermal springs and murky glacial rivers, you can just find a stream or river, dunk your bottle in and enjoy chilled snowmelt straight from the hills. With all the birds and grazing sheep, I would agree this sounds a little suspect... but after several weeks I've had no problems whatsoever.

And except for the arid interior regions, there is a lot of flowing water around here! I only carry a couple of full water bottles, then just fill up along the way as needed. Using the map as an indicator of rivers can be a bit of a gamble, as many marked are actually just seasonal or floodpaths, and on the southcoast you can't tell from the map which is fed by glacial melt carrying volcanic ash and sediment, and which is fresh, clear water.

An interesting example of fresh water converging with a glacial river: