Eventually the trail evens out and we don’t need to use our hands to pull ourselves upward. And lucky for us, the sky is clear, meaning we can see 360 degrees around us. This mountain is so different from everything else in Iceland, mainly because it quite literally stands on its own. While most of Iceland’smountain range is inland, this mountain sits in the middle of a sandy beach. The ocean is in front of us, and sand is on our left and right.
The mountain doesn’t build up to a peak either. It’s like the massive structure had been a part of the other mountain range and someone had taken a slice out and dragged it to the sandy beach. It’s just a tall chunk of rock sitting in the middle of nowhere, cliffs on all sides.
Getting up those cliffs? Not so great. But now that we’re up here, it’s more like walking across a rolling hill with the ocean in front of us and mountain ranges off in the distance to our back.
“I think I see it!” Cassie shouts. She’s a few paces in front of me, pointing to what looks like a massive pile of rocks at the highest point.
We pick up the pace from there, and it isn’t long until we make it to the stone structure with a large sign that reads Hjörleifshöfði.
“I’m not even going to attempt that one,” I say.
Stone steps lead up to the grave itself, which is a tall pile of perfectly laid rocks.
“Isn’t it crazy to imagine how long this has all been here?” Cassie says, stepping up onto the stone platform that leads to the grave. “Like, this is way older than anything I’ve seen. I was reading about the grave when I was looking it up. It’s from 875 AD, which doesn’t even feel logical to think about.”
“Wow,” I say, taking it all in.
We soak in the views and take a quick break before we make our way back down, taking a different route that’s a little longerbut less steep. Cassie’s in a better mood on the way down, but I don’t blame her. We don’t have to fight to catch our breath.
“If you could travel anywhere in the world and money wasn’t an issue, where would you go?” she asks.
Cassie strikes me as the type of girl who doesn’t like to sit in her thoughts. Except for the hike up, she’s managed to find talking points all day. I feel like most of the time when I’m around someone new, there’s awkwardness or a lull in conversation, but not with Cassie.
It’s nice for the most part, but after being around her all day, I’m starting to miss the comfortable silence that Harper and I have.
“I don’t know. Guess I’ve never really thought of it.” I almost add that the only reason I’m on this trip now is because of Harper, but I decide that’s probably better left kept to myself.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Australia, but the flights are so expensive!”
“Oh!” I say, the thought sparking an idea. “What about New Zealand?” I don’t know if I’d say New Zealand is on my bucket list, but if the opportunity came up, I’d jump on it. My dad and I used to live and breatheThe Lord of the Ringsmovies. He was a huge fan of the books, but I never got further than 100 pages before losing interest. For my dad, at least, New Zealand was on his bucket list.
“It is pretty there,” she says.
“Plus it has Hobbiton.”
“What’s that?” she asks.
“It’s part of the filming set for The Lord of the Rings movies.”
“Eww, no. I wouldn’t go there.” She launches off into adifferent conversation, going on about why she’d rather go to Australia.
I try to shake off the conversation, trying not to think about how if it were Harper I was talking to, she’d start to fantasize about going to New Zealand herself. She’s not into Lord of the Rings the same way I am, but she’s watched the movies with me a time or two because I wanted to.
Stop thinking about Harper, I tell myself.
We arrive back at her van. “So, you staying in Reykjavik still?” she asks, unlocking the sliding door and pulling out a bag of trail mix, offering me some as well.
I shake my head. “No, we’ve got an Airbnb in Vik.”
“Oh, we drove through that town on the way here. Maybe we can go out for dinner and then hang out at your place.”
The thought alone makes me recoil. Having Cassie and Harper in the same room feels like dangerous territory. Not only because I think the girls have grown to dislike each other as the day has gone on, but because if Cassie comes to the Airbnb there will be no hiding the fact that there’s only one bed.
“Actually, would you mind if Harper comes with us to eat? She ate alone last night while we went to dinner, so I feel bad ditching for two nights in a row.” Especially after having ditched her all day.
Cassie makes a face, her eyebrows scrunching up. “Don’t you think that’s a little weird?” She pauses in front of the van, turning to stare at me.
“What’s so weird about it? I feel like it’d be weirder to let her eat alone when we’re supposed to be going on this trip together.”
