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| SKOGARFOSS |
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| CLARE AND STEVE ENJOYING THE VIEW OVER LUNCH |
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| COLD AND MISTY AHEAD |
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| SNOWFIELDS IN THE MIST - A NAVIGATIONAL CHALLENGE |
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| SAFETY CHAINS TO GRAB HOLD OF ON THE STEEP BITS |
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| THORSMORK BELOW |
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| PORTABLE BRIDGE OVER KROSSA RIVER |
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| CAMPING AT HUSADALUR |
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.
