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Troop 60 > Troop News > Icelandic Jamboree 2024 > Day 3 Icelandic Jamboree 2024 - PreTour South Coast

Icelandic Jamboree 2024
Day 3 PreTour South Coast

Date: July 9 , 2024

Day 3

We continued east along the Southern Coast of Iceland to Vik and beyond. This included:

Dyrhólaey - looking out at coast and puffins
Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach 1-mile hike
Gýgagjá Yoda Cave
Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon 2-mile hike
Lunch and 1-mile hike at Systrastapi (Sister's Rock) with canceled climb
Resupply at Kirkjubæjarklaustur
Diamond Beach and Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Tjaldsvæðið í Skaftafelli - Vatnajokull National Park Campsite

Map using Google Maps

Dyrhólaey

We packed up and our first stop of the day was the Dyrhólaey Promontory. Adults visited this the night before and Scouts had a chance to view thousands of puffins flying around.

Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach 1-Mile Hike

We visited the famous black sand beach and the Reynisdrangar basalt sea cliffs. Some of us also loaded up on hotdogs at the Icelandic hotdog stands...Yum!

We were warned about the Sneaker Waves that knock over anyone in their path and pulls them into the ocean to their death. It was one of so many ways you can die in Iceland. Never turn your back on the waves!

Light was blinking yellow. Wonder why?

Gýgagjá Yoda Cave

We visited Gýgagjá, which is sometimes referred to as the Yoda Cave for some reason. It sits on a cape named after a Viking settler named Hjörleifur. There is an interesting history behind Hjörleifur and his grave sits atop the cave.

Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon 2-Mile Hike

This was a nice short hike with gorgeous views.

So many ways to die in Iceland

Lunch and 1-Mile Hike at Systrastapi (Sister's Rock)

Just past the village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur is a nice trailhead and parking spot where we stopped and cooked up lunch. There is an advertised hike to Systrastapi (Sister's Rock) with an interesting story of two nuns buried at the top of this rock hill. The hill is supposed to be climbable with help from a rope. We were excited about a hike to another climibing feature in Iceland.

Rauðárfoss (“Red River Falls”)
Basalt-column waterfall with iron rich water

Rusty steel cable used to help people climb to top of Systrastapi

2 of our adult leaders climbed to the top to see if it was safe to climb. It wasn't.

The cable on the north side was smooth from years of use and was very difficulty to grip. The top portion of the cable was frayed and could easily cut your hands open. The large chain hung on the opposite south side of the hill but the bottom portion of the chain consisted of smaller links which were much more difficult to grab onto and had a 10 foot drop from the bottom of the chain to the base of the hill. There weren't footholds on the south side, so a climber would need to rely on pure grip strength around the small chain to make it down the south side and then fall rest of the way if they didn't bring a climbing rope.

It is possible for an expert climber to get to the top and anchor in a climbing rope for others. That said, this climb is extremely dangerous and our Scouts were NOT allowed to attempt it. There also wasn't much to see at the top, other than a view of others looking up.

Waiting at base of rock for Adult climbers to return

Long Drive to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
We past the Skaftafell turnoff

Diamond Beach and Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

There weren't many diamonds on the east side of Diamond Beach. A few could be seen on the west side, but we were told that the "diamonds" have been smaller and less common in the past two years. In 2021, they had "diamonds" the size of semi trucks.

The Diamond Beach wasn't spectacular, at lease when we visited it. That's OK, because the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon was still incredible and was worth the extra drive.

Vatnajökull is Europe's largest ice cap and feeds Breiðamerkurjökull Glacier, which empties into Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. The Glacier has receded 3.5 miles over the past century and continues to melt away. Because of this, this is probably the smallest we will every see Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.

Image via InReach Mini App
Message at Diamond Beach
Note Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon just north of beach
Breiðamerkurjökull Glacier feed the lagoon to the north

We found a diamond!
You don't see iced beach much in our part of the world

We were told about the dangers of climbing on icebergs
Some people (and mini-mes) just don't listen

Watch out for Sneaker Waves in Iceland!

Another Sneaker Wave victim

Ice

It's getting late in the day
What a great veiw of an Iceland sunset on a glacier lagoon

Tjaldsvæðið í Skaftafelli - Vatnajokull National Park Campsite

We spent the night at the Vatnajokull National Park. The weather was good to us and we stayed dry and had lots of sun for the past few days and through the night. Iceland at this point seemed to have the perfect summer weather.