Sunsets at Midnight

It has taken me a long time to tell you all this: I have severely underestimated the value of sunglasses and an eye mask. Living in Seattle there is little use for such things, but out here it is a completely different ballgame.

One of the definitions for the arctic is that the sun does not set on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. As Iceland is just below the arctic circle (tantalizingly so, situated between 63 and 66°N), during the summer daylight lasts upwards of 20 hours.

In fact, ‘true’ night is practically nonexistent in this season due to atmospheric refraction. Instead, there are ‘white nights’, where the sun never quite sets but goes just below the horizon. Even then it rises again a couple hours later like a planetary game of space pong. Not only is this a land of fire and ice, but also of the midnight sun.

During my weeks camping in Iceland, it has been commonplace for me to wake up in a haze, thinking it is the middle of the afternoon before looking at my watch and discovering it is actually four o’clock in the morning.

Light at midnight. While I have been here, there has always been enough light to see by. My headlamp is the most useless item that I brought with me!

Thanks to its latitude, the sunsets in Iceland last for hours. This is both beautiful and nauseating. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy sunsets just as much as the next guy, but you must understand my plight.

On several occasions in those ungodly hours of the morning when I leave the warm embrace of my sleeping bag and stumble out of my tent to answer my call to nature, I rub my bleary eyes as I witness the sky set ablaze. The clouds dance with deep hues of purple and orange in a choreography of color… They last so long that it is honestly a hard window to miss.

In my stupor, I usually decline to don any layers before venturing out into the frigid dusk, foolishly thinking it will just be a quick trip.

Paulo Coelho, author of the only book that I brought along with me to Iceland (The Alchemist) wrote: “Beautiful sunsets need cloudy skies”. I couldn’t agree more.

I frequently find myself torn between my exhaustion from the day beckoning me back to bed and the strong desire to stay and soak in the glory. It’s kind of funny, actually. I’m so caught up in trying to savor the spectacle, but all I can really think about is how warm I will be when I crawl back into my nest.

Once, I was able to enjoy the best of both worlds camped directly next to the coast at 66.12, a site named for its latitude.

I am never up early (late?) enough to see the sunrise, but I think I’m ok with that. I’d rather sleep in, and I get plenty of sun throughout the week anyways. By now I’m sure I have a healthy farmer’s tan.

In addition to the dangers of sunburns even on cloudy days, I have learned a valuable lesson out here, one that I would not have learned in any classroom:

If you are a side sleeper and you cut your hair really short right before going somewhere with a lot of sun, here’s me reminding you that the tops of your ears need sunscreen too.

Gingerly,

Owen

Non-SU Program - Wildland Studies-Artic Ecosystems - Iceland - Summer 2022