Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.08.2018, Page 48

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Best of Iceland 2018
48
The Big Earth
Exploring the giant stones of
Stórurð
Words John Rogers Photos Timothée Lambrecq
“Stórurð” is a tricky word to
translate. The “Stór” part is
easy enough, meaning “big.”
“Urð,” at first glance, seems
to mean “earth”—but that ’s
the similar-sounding “jörð.” It
turns out that “urð” is a word
specific to Icelandic, with no
direct translation—it means a
long slope littered with loose
stones.
Although it ’s a less poetic
translation of Stórurð than
“big earth,” you can’t fault the
name for accuracy. Stórurð is
a remote valley near Borgar-
fjörður Eystri in east Iceland,
only accessible on foot. It lies
b ene at h t he huge D y r f jöl l
mountain range, where hik-
ing paths converge on th is
famously wild and beautiful
spot from four directions. One
path comes over the moun-
tains from the coastal town
of Bak kagerði. Another t wo
descend from the direction
of the Vatnskarðsheiði moun-
tain pass. The fourth route,
and the one we choose to take
on a cloudy May morning, is a
gentle 7.5km hike that begins
in the grassy lowlands of the
Rjúpnafell valley.
Familiar reverie
We star t the h i ke i n good
spirits. The morning rain has
stopped, and tiny windows of
blue sky are visible through the
smudgy clouds. It’s a relatively
warm day, and butterflies flit
between the yellow f lowers,
and purple shrubbery grow-
ing on the grassy heathland of
Rjúpnafell. To the right lies the
distant Jökulsá river, the main
tributary of Lake Lagarf ljót,
winding through the valley and
glittering silver in the morn-
ing light. To the left, waterfalls
trickle down from high in the
mountains, becoming streams
and sometimes torrents that
we have to pick our way across.
Within half an hour of walk-
ing, I’m sinking into a familiar
reverie: the thud of my boots on
the dirt, the smell of flora and
fresh air, and the bright colours
of nature take over my senses,
and my mind starts to slowly
relax.
The path meanders through
shallow valleys and up into the
hillside before, after about an
hour, it turns left into the val-
ley leading to Stórurð. The road
Distance from
Reykjavík:
677km
How to get there:
Route One North to Egilsstaðir,
then route 925
Flight: airicelandconnect.is
Car provider: hertz.is
Hotel: gistihusid.is
“With an immaculate sense
of theatre, the wind blows
the curtain of clouds away,
revealing the vast, jagged
Dyrfjöll mountains.”
East