Wednesday, August 27, 2014

ICELAND DAY 6: EYJOFSSTADASKOGUR - HARD TO SPELL, IMPRESSIVE NATIONAL FOREST


At the foot of Hengifoss (waterfall) looking toward Lagafljot (lake), with the Hallormsstadarskogar (national forest) in the background.

The town of Egilsstadir is on the east side of Iceland, about 20 miles from the coast.  We're running out of Iceland so we have to head south on Hwy 1 along the Lagarfljot (fiord lake) where legend has it the "Lagarfljot Worm Monster" resides.  We looked for it but didn't see it.

Hengifoss

Somewhere south of Egilsstadir is Eyjofsstadaskogur Forest, # 8.  We didn't find it but did find the Hallormsstadarskogar, Iceland's largest stand of continuous forest - parts are dedicated national forests.  It's a mix of conifers and birch.  We stopped at several locations and found well-managed facilities, clean camp grounds, an arboretum, well defined trails and roads, a Christmas tree farm, interpretive signage (some in English), day cabins, picnic areas (with BB & tables), play fields (soccer, a.k.a. futebol?), streams, waterfalls, and palatial, clean restrooms.   And there's a bonus:  at the south end of the Lagarflot, and very close to camping sites, is Iceland's second highest waterfall - the beautiful Hengifoss.

Halsaskogur Forest, #9

A mile and half east of the coastal village of Djupivogur, we found Halsaskogur, Forest, #9 on our list.  This forest has a lot of character.  It's a mix of birch and conifers, meadows, beautiful cliff and rock formations, an amphitheater, farm ruins, a sheep's fold, picnic facilities, even a hidden cave used to evade "Turkish" pirates in the early 16th century.   Halsaskogur was formally opened as an "Open" forest on June 21, 2008, by Kristjan Por Juliusson, a member of parliament. 
Heading south to spend the night in a small town called HOF at the base of Vatnajokull, Europe's largest glacier and second largest national park (yes Iceland is considered part of Europe). The Vatna Glacier covers about 8% of Iceland.

Total miles traveled: 260 miles

No comments:

Post a Comment