field notes from 02/08/23

Hornstrandir

Sunrise over wetland shallows
Mid-morning, fog lifting.
River bend below a granite outcrop
Parking lot at first light.
Wide view of the main impoundment at first light
Looking back toward the trailhead.

Hornstrandir is a place I return to because it’s never exactly the same twice, even in the same month.

Getting there is straightforward if you plan around the road access and the weather window for the season.

You can spend three days at Hornstrandir and only scratch the surface of the arctic tundra.

My default advice is to go july and early august. Outside that window there are still good days here, but the baseline quality drops.

Gear advice is boring: something long, something short, and enough layers that you’re not rearranging in the car.

On my first visit I missed the best light because I drove past the turnoff twice. I don’t anymore.

Anyone who tells you Hornstrandir is an easy place hasn’t been on a day where the wind picked up by nine.

If you go, take nothing, leave nothing, and be quieter than you think you need to be.