A Glacier Runs Through It

Solheimajokull....that's the name of the glacier that provided more clarity for me than I expected.

Seeing this glacier was on the itinerary for Day 3 of our week long trip in Iceland. And before arriving at the glacier, we had just checked out the incredible Skogafoss waterfall. Chance and I stood at the base of this aqua monster and all it's glory.

Skogafoss...we were drenched at this point.

Well, that probably wasn't the best idea with my DSLR camera huh? To my credit, I babied this camera throughout our trip and had a great plastic cover that kept my Canon nice and dry for the majority of the trip. The problem I didn't think about - residual condensation.

So as we were heading to the glacier after the waterfall, I was so worried that I just wrecked a $500 camera because the lens and inside the camera were super foggy. In addition, I'm a little bit of an anti iPhone picture taker. While it's incredibly useful and I do take iPhone pictures like anyone else (the waterfall picture above as an example), I'm a firm believer that quality pictures matter, and I take those pictures with my DSLR if I can help it.

So as we are hiking up to the glacier sans my foggy camera, the entire time I'm stressing about the camera, mad that my documentation of this list item will be with an iPhone and then I see the glacier. First, this thing is massive. And it's a baby glacier compared to others in Iceland and around the globe. Second, it's beautiful. The sheer size, incredible blue tones that don't show up in most pictures and the foreboding danger this geological wonder poses is truly a sight to be seen. And last, the fragility of something so massive is humbling. Whatever you believe about global warming, there's no denying that Solheimajokull is melting and calving. It bothers me to think this beautiful, heavenly made feature on our planet may not be there or be much smaller if I ever return to Iceland. We did see a tiny piece of the glacier fall off when we were there, and the sound was deafening.

So the clarity the glacier provided. First, I can't control everything. Even if I plan and get the waterproof bag for the camera, things can still not work. Breath Amy. It's okay. Second, there's always a Plan B. Just find it. I took pictures with my iPhone, and they look great. All is well. An third, preserving and protecting our world's natural treasurers is important regardless if they are thousands of miles away from your front door.

This is as close as you are able to get without trained guides and glacier gear because Solheimajokull, like many other glaciers, is incredibly dangerous and experiencing advancing melt.

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