Glacier Hike: The Beauty of the People

The glacier hike was the aspect of my Icelandic adventure that worried me the most. Us signing a waiver beforehand made me worry greatly regarding what this aspect of the trip would be like. I once again worried about the ‘what-ifs,’ and I imagined scenarios of us full on climbing a glacier, ropes and all. And one thing that I’m definitely not known for is my coordination or athletic ability.

Whenever I worry about something, I tend to have trouble sleeping the night beforehand. This can range from a test that I have to do for school all the way to an uncomfortable conversation that I may have to have with a friend. I had a lot of trouble sleeping before the glacier hike. I tossed and turned, but tried not to make much noise as I did not want to disturb my roommate.

I even thought about journaling at 2am, but I didn’t want to do anything that might distracted me from getting the best sleep that I possibly could get. It took me until about 3:00am to fall asleep, and when I was woken up by alarms that my roommate and I set at 5:50am, I was very disoriented. As I changed into my multiple layers, I worried if my tiredness would make the glacier hike harder for me, since I realized that it likely required some sort of physical capability.

My worry and disorientation carried on throughout breakfast, however, there was a part of me that was excited. After all, who could say with their full chest that they experienced a real glacier hike? That was a very big deal. We all then grabbed our things and went to the buses. It was 7am, meaning it’d be dark for a couple more hours, and I pulled my earmuffs on as the cold air graced my ears.

Once we got on the bus, I immediately fell asleep. I did that a lot on the bus rides, and tended to sleep better on the bus than the actual hotel due to the warmth. But this time in particular, I am very glad that I did. I woke up when we stopped at a gas station to use the bathroom and get some snacks. One thing I noted about gas stations in Iceland is that they are much nicer quality than gas stations in America. You could sit down and enjoy a good meal if you wanted to, similar to a restaurant.

I went back to sleep again until I woke up to us stopping. I saw a faint hint of the glacier, which looked beautiful from a distance. I was still very much in awe that we were going to hike it. We went inside the building and met the guides who would be helping us on this journey, and got introduced to the instruments that we would be using. This included a helmet, a hiking stick, and a confusing instrument that was to go on our feet that I later learned was called a crampon.

To my dismay, my beloved earmuffs did not fit under my helmet, so I had to leave them behind. Then, in my dad’s words, “the glacier adventure began.” Our group began to walk down to the bottom of where the glacier started, which involved a walk down a very steep hill. As someone rather clumsy, I did have trouble watching out in order to ensure that I did not trip, but the scenery was very enjoyable, especially once we began nearing the bottom and taking pictures.

Once at the bottom, we gathered in a circle and our guides showed us how to put the crampons on. They were to assist our feet so that we did not slip onto the ice. I, in particular, had a lot of trouble doing so, but the guides were very understanding and helpful. I understood very well why there was a warning sign to not approach the glacier without them, because one thing was for certain: I would not have made it very far without one.

We took more pictures, got told the dos-and-don'ts of what to do regarding how we walked, our sticks and crampons, and began the hike. The scenery was absolutely amazing, and I noted that while it was cold, it was not as cold as I thought it would be. I feel like before we left for the hike, so many people were emphasizing the cold, which made sense as it was pretty easy to associate a glacier with that kind of cold.

“Keep your feet apart,” I was told by the guides, as that would give more traction and prevent skidding. We were also encouraged to stomp, as that would help the spiky crampons dig into the ice, rather than skid. We did not have to fully climb a glacier, to my relief.

The goal was, overall, to enjoy the beauty and experience of the glacier without slipping. And I would definitely say that I achieved that. We passed by large chunks of rock and ice as the guides helped us. One of them had to hold my arm because I was really close to falling, and this occurred on multiple occasions.

Once we got to extremely icy parts, I had trouble. I remember there being steps that looked like they were made of ice. They were so slippery that it looked like anyone could fall. I remember I stood there, afraid, and panicking. I froze.

My only saving graces were the fact that there was a rope that you could hold as a railing, and I received such amazing support from my professor, my classmates, and the guides as I eventually did climb to the top, where we reached the peak of the glacier. Or at least the highest we would go, as we were told that we were not even close to the actual top (which could be seen by the numerous icy hills in the glacier. I made it.

Regardless, where we were was absolutely beautiful. However, it wasn’t just the scenery that made it so. I find that a travel experience is not just impacted by surroundings, but also people. It is not every day that you get to see the amazing sight of a glacier, but doing so while laughing, talking, taking pictures, and enjoying it with others made it truly unforgettable.

I had absolutely nothing to worry about. For just as the hills surrounded the icy ground that we were on, great people surrounded me.