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June 14, 2017

Iceland: Hiking Glymur Waterfall

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Miss my previous Iceland recaps? Check those out first: Iceland Day 1, Exploring the Glacier Lagoons, Hiking Skaftafell in Vatnajokull National Park, and the Reykjadalur Hot Springs Hike! This is my final Iceland post – featuring the amazing hike Matt and I did on the last day of the trip: hiking Glymur waterfall, which is Iceland’s second highest waterfall.

glymur waterfall hike

This is another hike we found out about thanks to a blog reader recommendation (thank you!) and I’m so glad we checked it out because it ended up being our #1 favorite hike of the whole trip. It helped that the weather was slightly better (still cloudy, but no rain!), but it was also just a phenomenal hike – we went through a little cave, we crossed the water twice (both trecherous/not your normal bridge crossings), there was some fun rock scrambling, and we hiked up and up and up and up and up along cliffs with stunning views of the waterfall.

Along those lines, a word of advice: this is not an easy hike, nor is it one you want to do if you are afraid of heights. Just FYI. Those cliffs were legit, and you get really high up. Also: plan most of the day to do this hike unless you start early.

glymur waterfall hike

We got to the trailhead around 11 or so, once again with a packed lunch, snacks, multiple layers (including hats, rain coats, gloves, jackets, etc.), and lots of water on board. The hike began with beautiful views of snow capped mountains in the distance.

glymur waterfall hike

glymur waterfall hike

It was so green!

glymur waterfall hike

We soon had our first views of the stream the waterfall turned into.

glymur waterfall hike

But first: a small cave! Fun!

glymur waterfall hike

Out of the cave, we started walking along the stream.

glymur waterfall hike

And then we found this. Wait… this is where we cross?!

glymur waterfall hike

Luckily when we arrived at the crossing a few people had just made the trip coming back our way, so they gave us a tip: take off your shoes and socks! The first part of the crossing required submerging your feet in rushing water, and the rocks were slippery, so this served two purposes: 1) bare feet are better at gripping slippery rocks than shoes are, and 2) you don’t want soaking wet shoes and socks for the rest of the hike, do you? Nope!

The best way to get across is to have your body on the left side of the wire until you reach the log, then duck under so you are on the right side of the wire. It was actually less scary and more fun than it sounds/looks, but MAN was that water cold!

glymur waterfall hike

Another tip: bring a small quick dry towel with you on this hike so you have something to wipe off your feet with after the two water crossings (the other one is really high up after you pass the main waterfall – you only do it if you do a loop vs. an out and back – more on that later)!

With the first water crossing successfully completed, we carried on – time to start climbing up! It was STEEP – some parts had wires or ropes you could hold onto to drag yourself up. Helpful!

glymur waterfall hike

I took the uphill nice and slow – didn’t want to trip or get my heart rate insanely high given the pregnancy situation!

glymur waterfall hike

The views got pretty amazing as we climbed. I was so glad that it wasn’t foggy out on this day – still cloudy, but at least clear enough to see relatively far!

glymur waterfall hike iceland

Our first glimpse of Glymur waterfall – it’s massive!

glymur waterfall hike iceland

glymur waterfall hike iceland

Getting really high up now!

glymur waterfall hike iceland

IMG_1952

I took so many pictures on the climb up – the views kept getting cooler and cooler! We were basically RIGHT on the edge the whole time – eek!

glymur waterfall hike iceland

glymur waterfall hike iceland

As we got higher, there were tons of white birds flying around – you can kind of see them in the following picture. They had little nests in the side of the cliff!

glymur waterfall hike iceland

I think at this point we were like “okay, this is officially our favorite hike of the trip.”

glymur waterfall hike iceland

glymur waterfall hike iceland

Only a bit farther to the very top!

glymur waterfall hike iceland

We made it!! We were officially higher than the waterfall!

glymur waterfall hike iceland

Beautiful snow capped mountain peeking out from under the clouds in the distance!

glymur waterfall hike iceland

At this point in the hike, you can either turn back and go down the same way you came, crossing the river again at the very bottom via the log, or you can make the hike a little longer and do a big loop, continuing past the waterfall, crossing the river there, and coming back down the other side.

glymur waterfall hike iceland

We decided to mix things up and do the loop – no fun going back down the exact way you just came! Although, if we’d known how torturous the water crossing up this way was, we might have changed our minds… 😉

glymur waterfall hike iceland

See those people in the photo above crossing the river? Yeah, it’s really wide, and outrageously cold (like, the coldest water I’ve ever felt in my life), and there’s nothing to hold on to. Oh, and there are sharp rocks underfoot. If you decide to do this hike with the full loop, consider bringing water shoes. You still have to deal with the crazy cold, but at least you can go more quickly since the rocks won’t be an issue!

You’ll want to take your shoes and socks off again to keep them dry. Other than that, the only way to prepare is to take a deep breath and get ready for some pain. The water was so cold that it ached terribly. It seriously hurt so badly I basically wanted to sit down and/or cry – I had to force myself to keep moving and breathing! Matt raced across just to get it over with but I was nervous about falling in and getting soaked and/or hurt, so I went more cautiously… by half way through my feet/legs were numb, so at least that helped because they didn’t ache anymore!

Here I am crossing while getting lapped by a random lady. Both of us were like “AHHHH GET US OUT OF HERE!!”

glymur waterfall hike iceland

Brutal. We were very glad when that was over!

And now, time to go down!

glymur waterfall hike iceland

We could only see the waterfall briefly on the other side – soon, it was behind the cliffs!

glymur waterfall hike iceland

Everything was really green on this side, though, and we had a nice view of the snow capped mountain in front of us.

glymur waterfall hike iceland

glymur waterfall hike

We stopped to eat the second half of our lunches (we ate the first half on the other side about half way up) – I had another smoked salmon, hard boiled egg, and cucumber sandwich. Yum! This made great hiking fuel because it had some good protein to keep me satisfied – and carbs from the bread for energy! Plus, the smoked salmon was nice and salty – good for replacing sweat!

packed lunch iceland

Break over – down we go!

glymur waterfall hike iceland

The sun came out for approximately 3 minutes – this is me celebrating! Oh, sun – I haven’t felt you in nearly a week!!

glymur waterfall hike

I’m pretty sure that we ended up going down the wrong way/not on the official trail on this side – we followed the people in front of us, and there were some others following behind us, and I think everyone ended up off track!

This is probably the point where we realized we were off trail – yikes! See how steep that is?!

glymur waterfall hike

Alright then – down the steep way it is! We took it slow and let people pass us, and Matt helped me down some bits, too. Sliding down on my butt in some parts was also helpful! It was a little scary at some points but for the most part it ended up being fine. Has anyone else done this hike as a loop, though? And if so, is this seriously the right way down?!

glymur waterfall hike

We made it!!

glymur waterfall hike

From the bottom of that cliff, it was a nice flat walk back to the parking area – maybe about half or 3/4 of a mile. I’m not sure how long the total distance was since we did the big loop and most of the stuff online is about the out and back route – but we were out there for 4 or 5 hours, so it wasn’t short!

IMG_1926

Put this hike at the top of your list, though, if you visit Iceland – it was amazing. I can’t imagine doing it on a totally clear, sunny day – the views would be even more insane!

Thank you for following along on our Iceland adventures! It has been fun reliving them by writing these posts. 🙂

What’s the most intense hike you’ve ever done? Hiking Mount St. Helens will probably not be topped for me anytime soon!

Have you ever crossed a river/stream during a hike?

- anne
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25 comments
  • Kelli @ Hungry Hobby
    June 14, 2017 · 10:24AM:
    That looks like it was amazing!!!! Iceland is definitely on my bucket list for sure! Most intense hike I ever did was in hawaii on our honey moon
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 14, 2017 · 10:43AM:
      Oh yeah?? What was so intense about it? Distance, terrain, etc?
      Reply
  • Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona
    June 14, 2017 · 12:38PM:
    Looks like you guys did another gorgeous hike. I like to do similar things on vacation - I could skip the shopping and spend more time outdoors. I've never tried crossing a stream without a bridge/log. I'm not very coordinated, so I'm pretty sure I'd fall if I tried!
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 14, 2017 · 2:40PM:
      It was scary! And yeah, I rarely shop when I travel unless I'm in a city (local boutiques can be fun) - you can shop anywhere but you can't see the cool sights anywhere!
      Reply
  • Susan June 14, 2017 · 1:58PM:
    Incredible pictures. I know they filmed The Lord of the Rings in New Zealand, but this looks like Middle Earth. Beautiful! And bravo to both of you for keeping your footing and balance on those freezing river crossings! :)
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 14, 2017 · 2:41PM:
      Thanks Susan!
      Reply
  • Carrie (This Fit Chick)
    June 14, 2017 · 2:20PM:
    This looks incredible!!! I really do need to make a trip to Iceland. It feels so out of the way, but it's worth it, clearly!
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 14, 2017 · 2:41PM:
      I'm not sure where you live, but it was a quick flight (6 hours) from the east coast of the US - basically the same as flying to California!
      Reply
      • Carrie (This Fit Chick)
        June 14, 2017 · 2:51PM:
        I'm in San Francisco, hah! It's quite a journey for me!
        Reply
        • Anne
          June 14, 2017 · 2:54PM:
          Ah, darn, it is! Kind of like us flying to Hawaii!
          Reply
  • Mel
    June 14, 2017 · 4:41PM:
    This hike looks AMAZING!! Wow! I can't believe we missed out on it. But I am very happy for you guys. Just what you were looking for. ??
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 15, 2017 · 9:08AM:
      We missed you guys!! Hope Canada has been amazing :)
      Reply
  • Emily @ Pizza and Pull-ups
    June 14, 2017 · 5:13PM:
    Your pics are incredible! I would love to do this, but would totally need to give myself a serious pep talk before crossing the water like that.
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 15, 2017 · 9:08AM:
      Yeah, the second water crossing was no joke. Ah!
      Reply
  • Kristine June 14, 2017 · 7:38PM:
    I'm glad you enjoyed the hike! Glymur is definitely the most intense hike I didn't do - I got to the first cliff and turned around! My travel buddy is much more adventurous than I am, so she'll push me sometimes, but I haven't done anything too crazy. Probably my most intense was a sort-of-unplanned 12ish miles in the Upper Peninsula of MI, at Tahquamanon Falls. Beautiful country, but some surprise mud and swamps made for a long hike with squishy shoes!
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 15, 2017 · 9:11AM:
      Your unplanned 12 miler sounds fun! And thank you again for this hike rec! Wouldn't have known about it otherwise :) It was definitely not for anyone scared of heights, that's for sure! Those cliffs were no joke!
      Reply
  • Roadrunner June 15, 2017 · 12:12AM:
    That was serious! Very impressive! Well done!
    Reply
  • Eva June 15, 2017 · 7:02AM:
    I just came back from Santorini a few weeks ago and the hike from Fira to Oia is incredibly strenuous!!! I'm sure Mt Helen is way more intense since it's an actual mountain, but the Santorini hike was NO joke-- espesh for what we thought was just going to be a leisurely stroll on a lovely island!! Did end up being way cooler than we could ever imagine-- but def not leisurely ;)
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 15, 2017 · 9:12AM:
      Way to rock that hike! Sounds cool - Santorini is on my bucket list!
      Reply
  • Kelly June 15, 2017 · 10:56AM:
    I enjoyed these posts so much and will save them for our next trip there! We visited only for 2 days and did not see the countryside....
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 15, 2017 · 11:04AM:
      Next time! :) Thanks for reading!
      Reply
  • Laura
    June 15, 2017 · 12:44PM:
    It looks so fun! I would've been scared of slipping off the log while crossing the river! My husband and I just got back from a trip to Yosemite and it was AMAZING. There were so many waterfalls and it was so beautiful. Everywhere we looked I was like "this is amazing". So fun!
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 15, 2017 · 4:32PM:
      Ah, I'd love to make it to Yosemite someday!
      Reply
  • Javi Plantillas para Correr
    June 19, 2017 · 2:44AM:
    Great photos! Iceland is a great place. You shuld check Scotland's Highlands, very beautiful as well. Congratulations for your blog!
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 19, 2017 · 8:54AM:
      Scotland is definitely on my bucket list!
      Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

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