{"id":30837,"date":"2021-11-20T11:14:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-20T11:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/?p=30837"},"modified":"2022-03-05T12:00:35","modified_gmt":"2022-03-05T12:00:35","slug":"long-stori-bolli-hike-haircuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/2021\/11\/long-stori-bolli-hike-haircuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Long St\u00f3ri-Bolli Hike & Haircuts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[Photos taken 20 – 26 November 2021, posted online 05 March 2022. All five of us have now had Covid-19 and are in varying states of recovery. All covid regulations in Iceland have been struck down. Oh, and there’s now a totally unnecessary war going on a little too close to us for comfort.<\/em>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My hiking group assembled a short distance away from the capital area to hike up to The Big Cup<\/a> (St\u00f3ri-Bolli<\/a>). The hike was a little weird because a road closure meant we had to begin walking on the road for 4 km before stepping off into the wilderness. The weather was cold but gorgeous, and it was a great day overall!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then life kept chugging onwards, with the added wrinkle that I was preparing for a week-long trip to Tenerife with two friends (I basically invited myself to join them, as I was in desperate need to leave our rock in the ocean for a different rock in the ocean!). The preparations mostly entailed pre-yule haircuts, and scouting for yule-presents, along with buying a few items of clothing. (55-ish images total)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday 20 November 2021<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Gathering on a parking lot at 8:40 am before heading off.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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15 minutes later, we were wondering which hill was which, I think the larger one is Helgafell.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Trundling along the now-closed road (to protect the ground water). Hiking shoes and straight roads aren’t a great mix.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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By 9:40 am we finally arrived at the turn-off point, and started hiking towards the ridge. I think the tallest peak there on the right side was our goal.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Lots of lava-ropes, and a cairn in the distance.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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10 am sky was pretty!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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10:20 am stoppage to refuel.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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These bumps are called “cups”, and there are three main ones. I think we went up a little right of center.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Agnes modeling with the moon.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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By 11 am we were encountering more snow.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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More lava-ropes.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Yours truly.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Heading upwards.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The show had a frozen shell on top. Our guide plonked down steps for us, but soon it was time to put studs on.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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We stopped to put the crampons<\/a> on, and were overtaken by a couple that were speeding up the hill. We also noticed that the sun was showing the “cups” nicely on the ground below.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Once up the hill, we were on flat land for a bit.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A strangely snowless gully. The hill up ahead was our goal.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A nice place for sledding?<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Thankfully, the snow-ice mostly held as we walked on top of it.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Beginning the last ascent.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Getting a lesson on the limitations of the mid-range crampons. They should not be used on steep slopes, as they can fall off shoes, causing bad accidents.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Trying to remember to look around!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In line, slowly making our way up.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Gorgeous!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Looking down to where we came from.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The peak in sight!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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We made it to the top at 1 pm!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The capital area off in the distance.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Ahhhh, sun!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Then it was time to skedaddle down again!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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All in line!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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At 1:30 pm we sat down again to refuel and enjoy the sun for a bit.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Passing through the weirdly snowless gully again.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The cuppy-shadows were gone by the time we got back to the second descent. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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With the sun hiding, it got a lot colder, thank goodness for wooly buffs.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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By 2:50 pm we’d mostly made it down below the snowline. The lava-field has lots of surprises so it’s good to keep your eyes open!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Hey, we were up there earlier! So weird!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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By 3:30 pm we were back on the road, and the trudge to the cars began. At this point my old ankle breakage started reminding me that all was not fantastic, and I ended up trailing the main group by a bit.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Pretty mounts.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Not quite managing to keep up with the speed-walkers in my clunky hiking boots.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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An angry looking lava field, plus the moon.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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By 4:30 pm we finally made it back to the parking lot, and it was a happy but tired group that said goodbye, and thanked everybody for a highly enjoyable day!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The route and elevation, it came out to about 17 km total!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sunday 21 November 2021<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The days had begun getting shorter, so it was time to put up the outside yule-lights.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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I’m pretty pleased with these lights, they’re LEDs and have lasted for a few years now, in contrast to the old incandescent lights that always needed expensive replacements every year.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday 24 November 2021<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Amazing 10 am skies, as I exited the physical therapist office. Booster shots were now being offered in the big sports hall next door, and the ambulance was parked outside for extra safety.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Emma got a haircut, and could now see.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Thursday 25 November 2021<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Haircuts happen in lumps, here’s me with newly shorn hair.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Bjarki with a tidy-looking head of hair!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Friday 26 November 2021<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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I panicked slightly about not having photos of the kiddos in November, so the big camera came out to play.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Handstand!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Back-carry!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Right side up.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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By Bjarki’s desk.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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So posed! With that I went and packed for my trip to Tenerife the following day!!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Photos taken 20 – 26 November 2021, posted online 05 March 2022. All five of us have now had Covid-19 and are in varying states of recovery. All covid regulations in Iceland have been struck down. Oh, and there’s now a totally unnecessary war going on a little too close to us for comfort.<\/em>]<\/p>\n

My hiking group assembled a short distance away from the capital area to hike up to The Big Cup<\/a> (St\u00f3ri-Bolli<\/a>). The hike was a little weird because a road closure meant we had to begin walking on the road for 4 km before stepping off into the wilderness. The weather was cold but gorgeous, and it was a great day overall!<\/p>\n

Then life kept chugging onwards, with the added wrinkle that I was preparing for a week-long trip to Tenerife with two friends (I basically invited myself to join them, as I was in desperate need to leave our rock in the ocean for a different rock in the ocean!). The preparations mostly entailed pre-yule haircuts, and scouting for yule-presents, along with buying a few items of clothing. (55-ish images total)<\/p>\n

Saturday 20 November 2021<\/h3>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Gathering on a parking lot at 8:40 am before heading off.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us","post-container col-md-12"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30837"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30894,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30837\/revisions\/30894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}