It has long been said that walking is the most underrated physical activity. It’s not only that walking promotes a healthy body, but it also promotes a healthy soul, and I can certainly confirm that.
From my house, there is a road up to the slopes above Isafjordur Town. This road is partly steep and from it you can follow all kinds of paths or go off the road and walk off-road. I’m on chemotherapy and I use this road, the slopes, and this area to deal with the treatment and build myself up between medications.
On the road, there are yellow poles that are used in winter to see where the road lies under the snow. In the summer, I use them to measure how well I am accumulating energy. Sometimes I only get two or three poles and then I have good days like today where I reached about 40 poles.
On this route, there is a hut at the top of the hill. It is called Siggakofi, or Siggi’s Hut in English. Since I’m called Siggi, I’m starting to call it my hut. Today I managed to walk from home to Siggakofi without stopping. It helped that summer has arrived, with heat in the air and the sun bathing everything in its most beautiful rays.
Instead of walking the same way back, I walked down the slope along a large avalanche barrier that runs across the slope. As I was walking down the slope, I suddenly heard a lot of rustling on the mountain slope when large rocks were rolling down the slope in the snow. It is common to hear glare in the rocks, but this time the glare was unusually loud. At one point, I watched the clear water rise from the ground and slide down the slope into a small stream. These incidents certainly reminded one of how vibrant the landscape is in the Westfjords, especially in the spring.
It can be said that the whole environment can play a part in improving people’s health. I say that I am hiking for health on holistic hills where all things living and less living matter in the big picture.
The photos below were taken on this hike. You can click on the top of any photo to start a full-screen slideshow.
