Deep Canyon - Glymur, Iceland
Last weekend I went into the canyon under Iceland highest waterfall, Glymur. The waterfall is 200m high and the canyon a little deeper. The inner most 1km is quiet narrow and one needs to wade through water to get there. It is best to hike there after long dry spells. This is the third time I have been there in summer. It is a interesting place and quite an enjoyable adventure walk.
This time was different though. The Northern Fulmar nest in their thousands on the canyon walls. In late August the youngs of leave their nests. They jump out of their nest on their maiden flight to test their flying skills. Those who successful fly land on the nearby sea where they feed. Those who fail end up in the bottom of the canyon, where they have no chance of ever getting to the sea. They are doomed.
Hiking into the canyon we had navigate past tens of these failures in the fight for "survival of the fittest". Some where alive, many where dead having slowly starved to death. Others had died quickly as a fox or a mink meal.
After we stayed in the narrow canyon for about an hour we started hiking back as it was getting dark. Fog had also rolled in so we could only barely see the top of the walls in the thick mist. It had become a spooky place to be in. As we slowly made our way back in the water a dead bird came floating by. A few more where also stuck between rocks. In the dark, fog and with death all around this place quickly changed from spooky to plain scary. An hour later we where at the car, soaking wet from both the river and the rain.
Deep Canyon - Glymur, Iceland
Last weekend I went into the canyon under Iceland highest waterfall, Glymur. The waterfall is 200m high and the canyon a little deeper. The inner most 1km is quiet narrow and one needs to wade through water to get there. It is best to hike there after long dry spells. This is the third time I have been there in summer. It is a interesting place and quite an enjoyable adventure walk.
This time was different though. The Northern Fulmar nest in their thousands on the canyon walls. In late August the youngs of leave their nests. They jump out of their nest on their maiden flight to test their flying skills. Those who successful fly land on the nearby sea where they feed. Those who fail end up in the bottom of the canyon, where they have no chance of ever getting to the sea. They are doomed.
Hiking into the canyon we had navigate past tens of these failures in the fight for "survival of the fittest". Some where alive, many where dead having slowly starved to death. Others had died quickly as a fox or a mink meal.
After we stayed in the narrow canyon for about an hour we started hiking back as it was getting dark. Fog had also rolled in so we could only barely see the top of the walls in the thick mist. It had become a spooky place to be in. As we slowly made our way back in the water a dead bird came floating by. A few more where also stuck between rocks. In the dark, fog and with death all around this place quickly changed from spooky to plain scary. An hour later we where at the car, soaking wet from both the river and the rain.