LANDMANNALAUGAR

SNOW BRIDGE OVER BRASHAGAKVISI RIVER

FUMEROLES AND RHYOLITE MOUNTAINS

DEEP SNOW IN PLACES

CLASSIC PICTURE OF RHYOLITE MOUNTAINS

FRACTURED SNOWFIELD NEAR HRAFNTINNUSKER HUT

RESTING NEAR BLAHNUKUR MOUNTAIN

DIMITRI NEAR THE HOT POOL

CANADIANS JERRY, BOBBIE AND LEAH AT LANDMANNALAUGAR

I left Alftavatn at around 8.00am.

The part of the Laugavegur Trail I am walking today is usually regarded as two sections, each of about 7.5 miles, with an overnight stop at the Hrafntinnusker hut at 1,100m. However it would undoubtedly be a cold night at this altitude. It seemed to me that doing both sections in one day should still involve less effort in terms of both distance and climbing than the Fimmvorduhals Trail that I completed on the first day of this trek.

Besides, I am running out of food and there isn't any available until I get to Landmannalaugar.

After about an hour of walking I reached the Brashagakvisl river where I had expected to have to remove my boots to cross. However, there was snow bridging most of it so I carefully used this to get to the other side. I could hear the river below my feet as I trod, and there were holes in the snow where it was getting thin. I didn't get too close to them.

Almost immediately the path started to incline steeply upwards. I turned round to get a last glimpse of Alftavatn lake before it disappeared from view in the haze. The climb was relentless and every time I thought I had reached the top, another higher hill appeared beyond. Eventually I reached a bit of a plateau and the pungent odour of sulphur hit my nostrils. I had reached an area I had previously seen only in photographs, with several fumeroles spitting and steaming nearby and yellow/orange/red rhyolite mountains beyond. It was an incredible sight and it took time to take it all in.

As I climbed higher the random patches of snow turned into huge snowfields which took me an hour to cross. I could see the Hrafntinnusker hut ahead of me, but it seemed to take an age to reach it. The sun had come out, so when I did get there I stopped to eat the last of my food and put on sunscreen. There were tent pitches around the hut - flat bottomed hollows dug into the snow - but no tents. Where snow wasn't present, the ground was littered with obsidian glistening in the sunshine.

The Hrafntinnusker hut is at the highest point of the day's walk, so the next snowfield was on an easy downward slope. I went past several more fumeroles and the scenery continued to take my breath away as different rock formations and colours came into view.

Soon I reached Brennisteinsalda, a mountain that overlooks Landmannalaugar, and couldn't resist climbing it to enjoy the huge panorama. The last mile of the walk involved a rapid descent, then a clamber through the sprawling lavafields of Laugahraun until I reached the Landmannalaugar hut.

The large area around the hut was filled with tents, but not so much that I couldn't squeeze mine in too. This is a popular area for daywalkers as well as long distance hikers on the Laugavegur Trail.

I bumped into Steve and Clare again, and they boiled me some water so I could have a cup of tea (I always bring a cup and a few teabags when backpacking - just in case). They would be going back to Reykjavik today, whereas I chose to stay another night. We said our goodbyes and I pitched my tent. Almost immediately the rain started.

I remembered that one reason for finishing the trail at Landmannalaugar was because of the natural hot pool. Deciding that this would be the ideal place to be in the rain, I donned my swimming trunks and took a dip. Another chap I had seen on the trail, Dimitri, was already there and we congratulated each other on successfully completing it.

It was still raining when I got out, and getting cold too, so I had a hot soup at the Mountain Mall mobile food shop before retiring to my tent for the night.

Next morning the rain had desisted but the tent was still wet, so I left it up to dry out while I took a stroll up the 945m high Blahnukur mountain, the closest significant hill to the campsite. It was a steep climb really, but it seemed so much easier without the heavy rucksack. The mountain also seemed to be made of green sand!!! - but the views from the top were spectacular, of course. The photographs describe things so much better than I can.

The bus back to Reykjavik was due to leave at 1.30pm, but my rucksack and tent were packed a good hour before that. I spent my remaining time in Landmannalaugar enjoying mushroom soup at the Mountain Mall whilst swopping travel stories with Jerry, Bobbie and Leah from Alberta, Canada.

I had completed my walking adventure in four days instead of the six I had allowed. This was due to me unexpectedly being able to start from Skogar on the same day I arrived (I hadn't realised that there would be such an early bus), plus completing the last two sections in one day. Finally, there had been no episodes of seriously bad weather that might have prevented me walking for a day (or more).

I said my farewells to my newly-made Canadian friends and stepped onto the bus, wondering if the Bus Hostel might be able to accommodate me for an additional two nights. With no communications on the trail, I had been unable to contact them.

EMSTRUR AND ALFTAVATN

LEAVING HUSADALUR FOR LANDMANNALAUGER

CROSSING THE THRONGA RIVER

CHAINS DOWN TO BRIDGE OVER EMSTRUR RIVER

CAMPING AT EMSTRUR REFUGE

ASH-COVERED PLAIN

FOOTPRINTS IN THE ASH - MOSTLY GOING THE OTHER WAY

WADING THE BLAFJALLAKVISI RIVER

ALFTAVATN REFUGE

Wake up, put boots on, breakfast, clean teeth, write blog, dismantle tent, pack rucksack, fill water bottles and start walking! This is pretty well my morning routine.

Sunday's weather looks OK! My feet had recovered from the previous day's bashing so I was looking forward to today's walk along the Laugavegur Trail to Emstrur.

Saying farewell to Volcano Huts I headed north-east away from Thorsmork. After an hour I reached the Thronga river which would be the first of several I would have to wade across. There were people at the crossing point in the process of doing the same, but in the other direction. I removed my boots and socks, put on some plastic sandles I'd brought with me, and proceeded to cross. The glacial water was cold and it actually hurt as it went half way up to my calves. Safely on the other side, I dried my feet, put my boots back on and kept walking.

For some considerable time after that I found myself walking along a flat-ish plain covered in volcanic rock which had the appearance of aero, and fine sand. It was like walking on a black beach, and quite tiring. On my left, the Markarfljot river ran in a deep gorge parallel to the trail.

Eventually the route deviated and I crossed a bridged gorge with the fast-running Emstrur river below. Getting access to the bridge was interesting though, with chains to help me get down to it and ropes to pull me back up on the other side.

Next was a short, steep hill, but from the top I could see the Emstrur refuge. It started to rain lightly, so I walked quickly to the refuge and decided to pitch my tent there. The only facilities for campers were toilets and the supply of water. There was certainly no food, electicity or radio contact. It wasn't even 6.00pm when I arrived but I decided to get to sleep early and make an early start next morning.

It rained during the evening and overnight, and as there wasn't much else to do so I did some blog writing before going to sleep. In all, I spent over 12 hours tentbound.

In the morning I packed my still-wet tent and headed north along a sandy desert-like path lined with emerald green hills. After about an hour I came to an unbridged stream just east of the Hattafell mountain, but was able to cross by hopping from rock to rock.

A further two hours of desert walking followed until I reached the roaring Innri-Emstrura river which, fortunately, was bridged. It was another hour before I reached the Blafjallakvisl river where I did finally have to remove my shoes and socks. 

Half an hour later I came to the Havanngil  refuge hut. The warden kindly boiled some water for me so I could eat a packet of noodles whilst chatting to a Dutch couple who were also taking a break there.

The last hour of the day's walk involved yet another shoes-off river crossing, this time of the Bratthaskvisl river, before finally arriving at the Alftavatn hut where I would camp for the night.

The hut is named after the Alftavatn lake which it sits beside. The warden told me that the view from the hut across the lake to the snow-covered mountains beyond was one of the most beautiful she knew. I wouldn't have argued with her. It reminded me of the view over Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada.

I wasn't even 3 o'clock yet so, after pitching my tent, I decided to take a walk around the lake. The warden told me this would take an hour, and the sun had just come out so I didn't take anything with me other than my jacket. Oh, how I wished I had taken my waterproof overtrousers, because half way around the sun disappeared and it started to to rain!

The rain was persistent, so I whiled away the rest of the afternoon and evening in my tent blog writing and looking at the map in preparation for the following day. I have been progressing well, so if the weather holds out it should only take one further day to get to Landmannalaugar at the northern end of the trail.

FIMMVORDUHALS TRAIL

SKOGARFOSS

CLARE AND STEVE ENJOYING THE VIEW OVER LUNCH

COLD AND MISTY AHEAD

SNOWFIELDS IN THE MIST - A NAVIGATIONAL CHALLENGE

SAFETY CHAINS TO GRAB HOLD OF ON THE STEEP BITS

THORSMORK BELOW

PORTABLE BRIDGE OVER KROSSA RIVER

CAMPING AT HUSADALUR

I was up early Saturday. After packing my rucksack and handing over my excess stuff to the hostel staff for safekeeping whilst hiking, I headed for the Bus Terminal.

The coach was comfortable and the driver gave a commentary about what we could see out of the windows while we journeyed. We saw huge lava fields, geothermal power stations, large numbers of Icelandic horses and, all the time, the snow-patched mountains ahead got closer. The coach stopped for 15 minutes at the Selandsfoss waterfall, just west of the now imposing Eyjafjallajokull volcano, so that we could get out for a photoshoot. The journey time to Skogar itself was 3hrs 20mins, and it rained for some of that, but it was dry when the magnificent Skogafoss waterfall came into view.

Leaving the coach I immediately went to the Skogafoss Hostel to get a weather update. It said cloudy but dry, with low winds, so I resolved to start walking the Fimmvorduhals Trail as soon as I'd inspected the Skogafoss waterfall close-to and had a cup of coffee.

Whilst sightseeing I bumped into Steve and Clare, a couple who would be hiking the same route and were also planning to leave imminently. I would bump into them several times during the day.

Powered by the four coffees I drank at the Hostel (free refills) I started walking north shortly after midday. As I climbed alongside the Skoga river I was greeted by waterfall after waterfall. This went on for about 2 hours until I reached the first patches of snow. Shortly after that, visibility diminished as I climbed into low clouds. For the next 3 hours I found myself crunching through large snowfields in a near white-out. There were marker poles placed on the path at intervals to show the route, but these were sometimes covered by snow. I followed footprints made by others and used my compass to ensure that they were heading in the right direction (although I could see from the orientation of the prints that most folk were walking in the other direction).

I located a safety hut at an altitude of 900m  and chose not to visit the Fimmvordulals refuge which would have required a short deviation to the west. Shortly after, I reached the peak of the pass between the Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull glaciers at 1,116m, although there wasn't much to see in the fog. Then I came upon Magni and Modi, the two new side craters on Eyjafjallajokull that were created at the start of the 2010 eruption. It was obvious that the rock all around them was newly formed.

The terrain then tilted steeply downwards and I had to take care to avoid sledging my way down on my back. All of a sudden I was below the clouds and the view opened up. The almost continuous snow broke up into patches and I could see mountains to the north, but in my immediate vicinity were green hills twisted into the most amazingly contorted formations. I wondered if all volcanically-formed hills started this way but gradually got rounded off through erosion

The path was clear now, but some parts of it so steep that chains and ropes had been attached alongside for safety. At last I arrived in Thorsmork (Thor's forest) and reached the refuge hut at Basar. I chose not to stay here though, and instead continued north-west over the flood palin, crossing the Krossa river on a couple of portable bridges. The bridges were on wheels so I guess they get moved around to wherever the best crossing points are.

I continued past the Langidalur refuge on the north side of the river and final arrived at Volcano Huts at Husadalur. I had decided to come here because I knew WiFi was available to enable me to send this blog. It had been a long walk - 30km (nearly 19 miles) over difficult terrain - but I had managed it in 8 hours.

I pitched my tent and ate the hot food at the hut, deciding to save the minimal food I carried in my rucksack for another day. Exhausted by the day's effort I slept well. I had completed the Fimmvorduhals Trail in a single day, and in the morning I would continue my northward journey on the Laugavegur Trail.

REYKJAVIK

HALLGRIMSKIRKJA CHURCH

SUN VOYAGER

NOT ALL ICELANDERS LOOK LIKE THIS

3D MODEL OF WHERE I WILL BE WALKING IN CITY HALL

THE PERLAN

'DANCE' SCULPTURE BY TORBJORG PALSDOTTIR OUTSIDE PERLAN

I was up early. After my included breakfast of toast and strawberry jam, I headed on foot into Reykjavik city centre to explore.

The weather was cool but dry. The first thing I noted was how quiet and uncrowded the city was. It was easy to cross even the most major roads because although car ownership per head of population is apparently high, the population of Reykjavik is only about 200,000, so cars are relatively few. In capital city terms, it is a small village, which just about sums up how it feels; friendly and unthreatening.

My first port of call was the BSI Bus Terminal from where I would catch the bus for the Laugavegur and Fimmvordhals trails. I hadn't at this point decided upon which direction to hike the trails, but it turned out that there were buses which would take me to either end leaving at 8.00am the following morning.

Continuing into the city centre I had to visit the iconic Hallgrimskirkja church, designed to resemble the basalt columns of Iceland's landscape. I was fortunate enought to be treated to a recital from it's magnificent 5275-pipe church organ, frequently played by famous international musicians.

I also enjoyed visits to the Sun Voyager sculture, Reykjavik City Hall (where they have a huge 3D model of Iceland enabling me to photograph the topography of the trail I would be following) and the Old Harbour. It seemed odd that so many of the tourist stalls on the harbourside were offering whale-watching sea-trips in a country that still kills them.

The streets of Reykjavik are festooned with sculptural works of art. My Dad, who was a sculptor himself, would have appreciated the many pieces on display wherever you walked.

I visited several information offices and outdoor shops to discuss my walking plans for the following day and gather advice. Apparently it has been colder than usual this year so there is snow at the northern end of the trail. As usual, the advice I received was mixed, but I took an average and decided that the best strategy would be to walk from South to North. Although that basically means walking uphill, this gives me time to gain experience in the environment as I go. Besides, I get the sun behind me, improving the view, and the opportunity to bathe in the hot spring at the northern end as a reward. Let's hope that rivers and snow don't thwart my plans.

After visiting a supermarket to buy suitable food for the trek (pitta breads, peanut butter, cheese, salami, fruit, chocolate) I returned to my hostel to off-load it before heading out again, this time the Perlan, a striking building constructed on a hill to the south of Reykjavik. Basically, it is six hot water storage cylinders with a glass dome on top, but it has a 360 degree viewing platform giving magnificent views of the surrounding landscape.

Returning to the hostel I enjoyed a 'happy hour' beer (well, two really), wrote my blog notes, cooked supper and headed to bed. It would be an early start in the morning. I wondered how this adventure would turn out.

HAPPY LANDINGS

GATWICK AIRPORT - DEPARTURE IMMINENT

BSI BUS TERMINAL IN REYJAVIK

THE BUS HOSTEL - NICE PLACE

My rail journey to Gatwick Airport was uneventful although the plane took off an hour late for the 3 hour flight because of a baggage mix-up. It was about 7.20pm local time when we landed at Iceland's Kevlavik Airport.

On the approach to the runway the ground appeared to be parched brown, cratered and cracked - almost lunar - with isolated hills, like nasty boils, poking through it. Once on the runway the immediate surroundings were green with heather, and quite flat. This is obviously why they built the airport here because I could see high mountains to the east.

The sun was low but very bright and warm, a pleasant surprise in the evening. After collecting my luggage I exited the airport and boarded the Flybus which would take me to my accommodation, located close to the Bus Terminal in Reykjavik and named 'Bus Hostel. Not very creative, but I guess it would be hard for jet-lagged visitors to end up going to the wrong place.

I am assigned a bunk in a 4-bed dorm and quickly locate the kitchen so I can cook supper. The hostel is clean and well organised, and seems to be occupied by young people from all over the world. Just after I had finished eating someone offered me a share of their own food as they had made too much. Too late, of course, and a pity since their food looked better than mine!

After a long and exhausting day it was back to the dorm where I slept peacefully in my sleeping bag (you have to pay extra if you want sheets and a duvet). There were blackout curtains on the windows to block out the perpetual daylight present at this time of year.

LAST MINUTE STUFF

I have various lists which help ensure that I don't forget things when I go on a trek, but there are always a few adjustments to be made to them, depending upon the terrain and weather conditions I expect to encounter.

For instance, I may be pitching my tent on rocky ground, so rather than bend my tent pegs I have bought some galvanised masonry nails to hammer in, and made a tool to pull them out again.

Unfortunately, a check on the weather forecast indicates that I will be encountering a fair bit of rain and the temperature is going to hover somewhere below 10 degrees centigrade. Obviously I will be taking full waterproofs, but I have also taken two sleeping bags. I have a lightweight down bag, but it may not be adequate to ensure comfort at the expected low temperatures. Thus I am also taking a lightweight synthetic bag large enough to slip over the down bag. Not only will this improve overnight comfort but it will also ensure I have a back-up in case the down bag gets wet (which causes it to lose its insulating properties). Since there will be 24 hour daylight I have also packed an eye mask to help me sleep.

Hiking the Laugavegur and Fimmvorduhals Trails will involve crossing several unbridged rivers with water which may be more than knee deep. Thus, another potential problem arising from rain is that river water levels may be higher than usual. I will remove my hiking boots and wear plastic sandals for the crossings, and use trekking poles to stabilise myself, but there is always the possibility that I may consider it too dangerous to cross and have to wait or turn back.

I have acquired the best map I can for the trail, but it is woefully poor in comparison the OS maps that cover all of the UK. I am expecting some sort of signage on the route, so this may not be a problem, but I might need to use a compass for reassurance from time to time. However, whereas in the UK a compass needle points more-or-less north, in Iceland it will point significantly west of north (known as the magnetic declination). So that I can account for this when navigating I prepared the following map which shows the magnetic declination over the whole of Iceland.

For the Laugavegur and Fimmvorduhals Trails it will be about 13 degrees to the west.

Anyway, my rucksack is now packed and is happily lighter than I expected - 13.5kg, roughly 30 lb - and that includes enough water and food for 3 days. I must have learned a few things since my first major trek when my rucksack weighed a back-breaking 20kg or more with food and water.

Time to get some sleep now as it is nearly midnight and I depart tomorrow.  

DEPARTURE IMMINENT

At last I have got this Blog started!

I spent the end of last year and the start of this planning what I would do in Iceland, and finally booked my flights in February. There was lots of stuff to research, so the whole itinerary has been quite carefully planned. Accommodation has been booked where required and car hire arranged, so the trip is pretty-well scheduled on a day-today basis. Essentially, I will spend a week walking the Laugavegur and Fimmvorduhal hiking trails, then another week exploring the Westfjords and the north of Iceland by car. So, that'll keep me busy between the 23rd of July and the 10th of August.

By contrast, my visit to Corsica from the 6th to the 27th of September is much more ad-hoc in terms of schedule. All I have booked is the flights between Gatwick and Bastia-Poretta airports. Somewhere between my arrival and departure I expect to traverse, on foot, over the mountains, from the north to the south of the island, following a 112 mile route which has been designated the GR20. To get to and from Bastia-Poretta airport and the trail ends I may end up hitch-hiking.

The inspiration for the Iceland trip was Julia Bradbury's BBC documentary first shown a 2011.

As for my GR20 adventure, this is simply reputed to be the toughest long distance trail in Europe, so I felt I just had to do it (see GR20). Besides, I might need warming up in sunnier climes following my Iceland trip.

Both trips will be real adventures and I am really looking forward to them. I guess I'd better start loading the rucksack!