The obstacle is the way, or how I almost got myself in trouble this summer!

The Obstacle is the way

This is the title of a book written by Ryan Holiday about turning challenges into success. This was the phrase that accompanied me this summer when I was attempting to reach more lighthouses and paint them for the Viti Project. And it almost got me into trouble...

It is impossible to sum up two summer months of lighthouse adventures so I decided to tell you about one mission in detail. But instead of choosing my most successful one, I decided to tell you about the one I failed at, which was the lighthouse of Fjallaskagi in the Westfjords.

Fjallaskagi is situated along a fjord called Dýrafjörður and there is no hiking path or road to go there.

I had at least three ideas on how to reach this lighthouse, but after looking at the weather forecast I decided to choose the plan of walking along a rocky shore at low tide for about eight kilometers (five miles), on the 25th of July and bringing my tent with me so I could sleep one night at the lighthouse and then return the next day when the tide would be low again.

The night before I was (more than usual) worried about this expedition, but I told myself that if I saw it was not possible to go I would simply turn back (although I had to be careful about the tide).

So here I was on the morning of the 25th of july, driving to the end of the road, leaving my car near some beautiful ruins, and starting to walk down to this rocky shore that would be my way for eight kilometers.

It felt good to get started, and I enjoyed the rhythm of the walk on the rocks. But after a few kilometers, I could already see the first challenge ahead: some sea cliffs I would have to climb up, hoping that there would be a way down to the shore on the other side.

But the obstacle is the way, I told myself.

Although it was not a very high climb, I did not have many things to grab onto, so I had no choice but to pull myself up almost solely by the strength of my arms, with only one foot precariously wedged on a slippery rock. After a big rush of adrenaline, I made it.

After that, it was mostly easy to make my way along this shore for a few kilometers, until more seacliffs were in view and those seemed more difficult to climb than the previous one. But there was a steep and grassy slope I could go up instead.

The obstacle is the way, I told myself.

It was really steep but manageable, and I used the cover of my backpack on my butt to slide down the other side of that grassy slope. Shortly after, I could catch a glimpse of the lighthouse. The closer and closer I got, I realized that I was going to make it there. I was so delighted, I could already see myself camping at the lighthouse with the sunset in the background.

I had only one kilometer left to walk to reach my goal, but my joy was extinguished when I realized that two hundred meters ahead of me the waves were already up the shore and crashing against a long stretch of cliffs.

But the obstacle is the way, I told myself again.

As it turns out, you have to identify what is the true obstacle. In this case, I had two choices: either the obstacle was this cliff I could attempt to climb or the obstacle was the ocean.

Since it was obvious that I could not swim in the ocean, I thought I had to choose the cliffs. But as I started to scramble up I quickly ran into trouble: the scree was too slippery. I imagined what would happen if I decided to push on: I saw myself sliding, knocking my head on the rocks, and then disappearing down into the waves.

Luckily, I turned back before this happened. I mean, it surely would have been a disaster had I carried on. As it turns out, those cliffs weren't the obstacle, they weren't the way. The true obstacle was the ocean. Those cliffs were impossible and if something is absolutely impossible it becomes reckless and unwise to push on.

One thing this book from Ryan Holiday taught me was that it doesn't matter how many times you have to try for something to work out. He gives the example of Thomas Edison who was persistent enough to try six thousand different filaments before inventing the incandescent light.

I, too, will be persistent and try another way. Now that I know that the true obstacle is the ocean, that the ocean is the way, I will come back next time with a kayak and paddle those eight kilometers to the lighthouse. Believe me.

The ocean is the way.

That said, I still did the painting afterward based on pictures I took because I had a good view of the lighthouse from where I was. And despite being utterly sad to have to turn back, my joy quickly returned when I found the perfect place to pitch my tent for the night: a flat grassy area surrounded by berry bushes, safe from any rockfall and with a small stream running nearby.

The reason why I am doing this project is also to enjoy time in nature. So, despite not reaching the lighthouse, I still had a great wild camping moment in this very remote corner of the fjord, where I was sure that nobody would interrupt my tête-à-tête with the icelandic nature.