Hikers from St. Paul run into each other in Iceland, capture special moment
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- It's one of those "only in Minnesota" situations. Two groups of hikers from St. Paul ran into each other 3,000 miles away across the globe in Iceland.
"We went to Iceland for our honeymoon in 2013 when we got married and we instantly fell in love with that country, so we made a vow we would come back in 10 years with or without any children we may have at that time," Jennifer Goepfert said.
Making good on their vow, Jennifer and Travis took their 6-year-old twins Aela and Eva on a trip to remember this July. But it's not the sights that will stick with them, it's the two young hikers they met along a trail in Thorsmork. The encounter began when they stopped to rest.
"The young man at the end of the bench saw my hat he's like 'Is that a St. Paul Saints hat?' And I was like 'It is!' He was like 'Well we're from St. Paul!'" Goepfert said.
Not only that, the brothers said they grew up near the same street in St. Paul, that the family currently live on.
"We definitely did not get their names in a totally 'Minnesota Nice' fashion. We just chatted about things like weather and sports and went on our way," she said.
"While they were walking away, I turned and I looked into this valley and the setting was right, the backdrop was right, so I'm like I'm just going to snap a couple of these shots," Travis Pedersen said.
The photos turned out to capture a beautiful moment of the hikers, under a breathtaking backdrop.
DO YOU KNOW THEM?! A St. Paul, Minnesota family hiking in Thorsmork, Iceland on July 14th took these epic photos of two men they met - also from St. Paul! The family would love to find them so they can share these photos. They were hiking the Laugavegur Trail. @WCCO pic.twitter.com/wW3UKKDG1f
— Kirsten Mitchell (@Kirsten_TV) July 26, 2022
"I saw them and was I like wow. These are two brothers that are hiking this trail and maybe no one else has ever gotten to take pictures of them," Goepfert said.
Jennifer posted the photos on Facebook hoping someone would recognize them. Later in the afternoon, the hiker's mother commented, identifying them as her sons.
"It was just beautifully inspiring to see them out there and I just hope that these photos bring them joy and help them remember this amazing experience that they hopefully had," Goepfert said.