Iceland hiking: some comments

Iceland has some diverse scenery. Close to the line separating the European and American tectonic plates, where new land is being formed, there are recent volcanic lava flows and ash, almost barren of vegetation, sulphurous emissions of steam, hot springs and craters filled with bluish water. In the north west there are more mature areas of layered rocks, coated with a green vegetation, Angelica bursting forth in its wetter areas. There are mountains and gorges and many, many spectacular waterfalls. Glaciers fed from ice caps flow down valleys, melting into lakes with little icebergs. 

When I visited in July there were flowers to admire, thrift and thyme colonising the newly formed black ash and grey moss coats new lava. Lupins, an invasive species thrives in Iceland, starting to form the new soil. Later dwarf and downy birch takes over, with an undergrowth of geraniums and buttercups. There are birds to watch, listen to and identify, which you get close enough to see their markings, and in Hornstrandir I also saw Arctic foxes, a real treat. Iceland is steeped in history but it is revealed in sagas, not in castle ruins, though there are plenty of museums with old and not so old artefacts.

I visited after the peak of the Covid 19 pandemic, and while Britain still cowered with fear Iceland was getting on with life as normal. Although I was told there were much fewer tourists, I found full hotels and guesthouses outside of Reykjavik, and everywhere the better restaurants were bursting, with little room for a solitary walker. In normal times Iceland must be overflowing with visitors. However some places were closed and tours (ice climbing, kayaking) I would like to have joined were cancelled due to lack of custom, which made me wonder where do the people stay who normally go on these things?

On most of my trips I walk long distance paths between one place and another over periods of three to eight weeks. People do walk across Iceland from north to south giving a trip of this sort of length, however, from their blogs the middle bit did not seem too interesting, although if there was more than one of you, a safe crossing of one of the ice fields would be possible and add interest. Being alone I decided instead to hike in four different areas, including the popular Langavegur trail which I lengthened by preceding it with the quieter Hellismannaleið trail and following it with the Skogar trail. This was the best part of my trip due to the good weather (not to be relied upon), the hut facilities on the routes (flush toilets and showers) and the new volcanic landscape. It also had transport links in the form of the hikers' "Highland bus". Elsewhere, public transport outside urban areas was limited, infrequent and expensive. Where it did exist, it could take the form of a small minibus and as I learnt, you have to stand right on the bus stop with a keen eye for the inconspicuous vehicle to get on board. Outside of the most popular areas Iceland is not kind to backpackers with regard to transport. Hitching is possible but slow. Transport difficulties made me wish I had planned an A to B route rather than hiking in four different areas over the four weeks I was in Iceland. 

Weatherwise, in July I was reminded of the west coast of Scotland, a lot of rain at times. High winds and heavy rain kept me in Isafjordur for three days, and continuous wet weather put a damper on my walk in the Ásbyrgi area. But when it was not raining it was lovely.

The Cicerone book "Trekking in Iceland" was very useful although its references to bus routes were incorrect, at least during the current time of Coronavirus. The hiking maps I bought were of little use, except in showing me the Blaskogavegur trail (which does not appear in the above mentioned book). A GPS with the planned routes downloaded onto it is invaluable, especially in the mist.

Links to each section of my walk:

Start of Hellismannaleið, Laugavegur and Skogar trails

Comments on Hellismannaleið trail

Comments on Laugevegur trail

Skogar trail

Skaftafell

Start of period at Ísafjördur and Hornstrandir

Bláskógavegur trail

Jökulsárhlaup trail 

Dettifoss to Mývatn

Return home: Iceland tour Day 29 and 30

The ending to my tour around Iceland was made special by meeting my brother and sister-in-law heading the other way.

In the morning I visited the small National Gallery of Iceland. Best part was an exhibition of watercolours by a Swedish artist who worked in fashion for "Vogue" and the like. In a few strokes of blurry paint he managed to capture a person's expression or the swish of a dress. In the basement the video installations did not excite my attention so I was glad when my brother and sister-in-law rang. They had just arrived in Iceland and were staying the night near Keflavik airport. As I was spending my final night in Keflavik for an early flight next day we agreed to meet there. Two buses later and I joined them in their hotel in an industrial part of town which probably gave them a misleading impression of what Iceland was like.

Being near the famous Blue Lagoon, that seemed an ideal place to go to relax, for me being it was my final day and for them to recover from their early morning flight and the lack of sleep getting to the airport the previous night. After struggling to work out which queue we should be in, we gained entry to the warm, turquoise blue and rather salty water (it stings when it gets in your eyes), surrounded by chunks of black rock with bubbles in (solidified lava with vesicles). The area of water was larger than I thought and there was a free mud pack to try. Not sure it improved my complexion, it certainly made people look funny. Dinner that evening was at the Duus restaurant at the far end of town. We had a table overlooking a small boat harbour and it seemed appropriate to try the fish. Quite filling.

Next day it was a bit of a shock getting on the plane and seeing everyone one in face masks. Although there were signs with advice and plenty of antiseptic hand gel in Iceland, no-one seemed too fearful about the Covid 19 pandemic and face masks were very rare. Occasional cases were reported in the media, and the details provided of how people caught the virus gave confidence that the health authorities had the situation under control. In Britain things seemed to be going the other way with face masks now required in shops as well as on trains and buses, unlike earlier in the pandemic when there were more cases. I filled in the lengthy online form required for those returning to the Britain, fortunately 14 days self isolation is not required if you are travelling from Iceland, although no-one checked on my arrival at London's Luton airport. On my journey back to Cardiff, only half the people on the trains seem to be wearing masks, or rather wearing masks covering their face and nose. In Britain there seem to be lots of rules (that appear unnecessary in Iceland) but little checking and enforcement. It seems strange that Iceland does not need all the restrictive measures required in Britain and keeps schools and businesses running yet still keeps the number of Covid-19 cases low. I know the population in Iceland is less densely spaced but the biggest difference I noticed was being tested at the airport, and getting a response within hours. I read in the British press that we are even failing to reach government targets for testing in Care homes.

Update: The following day I visited a Pub in my home town of Cardiff. Unlike in Iceland where there appeared no restrictions, here we had to give our name and telephone number, were allocated a table outside in the car park, well separated from other tables, and only table service was available. Although they had beer their supplier had been unable to provide crisps or nuts. In the city people, three quarters of the shops and cafes were open, and people were about, a big improvement to when I left a month ago. One of the main streets had been closed and turned into a large pavement café. People dutifully queued 2 metres (sort of) apart and I had a very nice 50% off a coffee and sandwich at Cafe Nero, a government scheme to support the hospitality trade. 

Back in Reykjavik: Iceland tour Day 28

A return to Reykjavik for the final days of my Iceland experience. 

Not wanting to miss my flight from Akureyri I was at the airport before it opened. Apart from the white dome of one of Iceland's ice caps, my window view from the plane was again obscured by cloud. 

First objective in Reykjavik was to get my hair cut. The lady who cut it said all the British people arriving recently had "crazy" hair, a result of the hairdressers in Britain being closed until recently due to the Coronavirus restrictions. She recommended I visit the new "Flyover Iceland" experience, apparently all the locals were. I took her advice. After two introductory audiovisual experiences the main event was a simulated flight over some of Iceland's scenery. An immersive experience with the screen wrapping around our chairs which swung this way and that as we "flew" through the landscape, appearing to fly straight into mountains before banking away at the last moment. Fine water spray added to the effect during close approaches to waterfalls. Hikers disappearing beneath my legs as we flew over them made me think this was a quicker way of seeing Iceland than my long hikes of the past few weeks, however the colours were too vivid and there was no rain so not the real thing!

I bought a few gifts for my wife and visited the Hallgrimskirkja, the church that looks like a white rocket on a high point near the centre of Reykjavik. The columns actually represent columns of lava.

As it was my final day in Reykjavik I enjoyed an expensive meal in the evening at the Kol restaurant. Like many such places it was full but they let me sit at the bar, which was fun as I could watch the bartender tossing bottles around in a theatrical manner as he made up various obscure cocktails. 

Hallgrimskirkja.

Inside Hallgrimskirkja  a sort of simple, modern take on perpendicular style architecture. 

View of Reykjavik from top of Hallgrimskirkja tower showing some of the coloured corrugated steel roofs and walls.

Trying to leave Mývatn: Iceland trip Day 27

An annoying day missing a bus.

Today's plan was to catch the 14:30 bus to Akureyri then a plane to Reykjavik. So I packed, read and lunched on Arctic char with crispy skin, kale and mashed potatoes beautifully set off with mustard grains, lemon and olive oil(?) at the Gamle restaurant. At 14:00 I was sitting at a picnic table near the bus stop waiting for the bus. Close to the time the bus was due a talkative Venezuelan, who was also waiting for the bus, engaged me in conversation complementing the British "stiff upper lip". This did not prevent me from looking at the bus stop for any sign of the bus, including carefully viewing any minibus that drove by. Previously the location of my buses showed up on the Strætó bus App, but today there was no sign of it. 15 minutes after it should have arrived I went into the adjacent visitor centre where the lady at the desk rang the bus company, then rang the company they had sub-contracted the route to. They claimed we had missed the bus. I was told we should have been standing next to, like within a foot of, the bus stop and not nearby, otherwise the driver may not stop. As the next bus was in three days time the lady suggested hitch hiking was our best bet. My Venezuelan fellow traveller walked a little way down the road to hitch and I tried by the visitor centre. After an hour a German couple stopped, unfortunately they we going to Húsavík, but very kindly dropped me at Laugar where I knew the bus from Húsavík to Akureyri stopped. There was no sign of the man from Venezuela, he must have hitched a lift from someone who had passed me, good for him. The Húsavík bus arrived at Laugar at 16:30, and I felt that this would not allow me time to catch my 17:45 flight from Akureyri so I struggled with my phone to change my flight to next day paying the requisite change fee and fortunately not losing the signal part way through. I also tried to change my hotel reservation in Reykjavik, although conscious that I would likely have to pay for tonight under the cancellation policy. Maybe if I had arranged a taxi at Akureyri I could have reached the airport in time but I thought of that too late. So to recover from my gloom I am now in a beer lounge in Akureyri, sampling a very pleasant Icelandic beer recommended by the barmaid and a shot of some Icelandic spirit called Brennivín, flavoured with caraway and cumin it tastes better than some.

Around Mývatn: Iceland tour Day 26

It did not rain today, there was even some sun as I visited avenues of rock pillars, climbed a scoria crater and soaked in hot water.

First I had breakfast. I had rented a (basic but adequate) "Bed and Breakfast" room at the campsite, but the breakfast was in another guesthouse 20 minutes walk away. While eating my breakfast, at the next table a family were eating a meal of cucumber and broccoli with a few of those air filled, insubstantial rice cakes. I felt sorry for the pale children having to put up with their parents' dietary choices, they looked like they needed some protein and carbohydrate. Even if their parents had an ethical viewpoint concerning animal related food, the kids could at least have tried some of the smokey, rye bread, baked in geothermal ovens, a speciality of the area which I was enjoying.

Having had plenty of protein and carbohydrates myself, I confirmed at the enlightening visitor centre that buses were as rare as I had suspected. So after a little laundry, I set off to walk to Dimmuborgir, trying to hitch a lift. After several empty cars passed a French - Italian couple very kindly stopped, and even better they were headed for the same place. Dimmuborgir consists of an area of columns created when hot, molten lava flowed over a wet area. The resultant steam punch a vertical hole through the lava cooling and solidifying the material immediately around it as a column. When the surrounding still molten lava drained away the columns remained, as weird contorted shapes with a few arches and caves. Leaving this area, said to be a playground of trolls, I walked to and struggled up the crater of Hverfjall, difficult to climb as it is composed of loose scoria. It is a volcanic structure only a few hundred years old.

Next on the agenda was the Mývatn baths. I tried the steam room supplied directly from cracks in the rock, then enjoyed a glass of white wine while soaking in the bluey white hot water of the large pool. Idly amusing myself I watched my hands disappear as I lowered them deeper into the milky water.

Dimmuborgir.

Hverfjall.

Mývatn hot water baths.

Crack in the ground where the continents are moving away from each other.

Dettifoss to Mývatn: Iceland tour Day 25

A very long day which included a steep climb and recent volcanics.

Owing to the rain outside playing maracas on my tent I packed my rucksack (with difficulty) in the very confined space inside. My socks have been wet for a few days, and now my sleeping bag has damp patches although it is still cosy and warm, maybe as it is synthetic rather than down. I left Dettifoss before any tourists had arrived a little apprehensive of the route ahead. I had downloaded it from the internet to reach the volcanic phenomena at Leirhnjúkur. As there are no trails from Dettifoss to Leirhnjúkur the route I had downloaded crossed much open land, and I was concerned that it may be difficult to push through the vegetation or other obstacles. From Dettifoss to the Hliðarhagi tourist hut it was not too difficult, the land only had low, gentle hills, and although it was necessary to jump from hummock to hummock at times, the undergrowth did not prove too difficult. Lichen and mosses; patches of red, splashes of white, furry greens, brightened my way. Even the river crossing I expected turned out to be dry. The tourist hut was open, with a note on the table warning of bed bugs on the mattresses.

After the hut things became difficult. There was no visible path up the hillside that followed, at least not in the right direction, and at first the creeping willow and birch made it difficult to push through. I persevered, following occasional sheep tracks. After the initial climb, the main obstacle to my walk came into view, a long ridge its summit lost in the low cloud. At first the route followed the base of the steep slope of the mountain's east face, then near a gully, turned to go over part of the mountain range. The climb was up loose scree at a high angle, sliding stone and gravel beneath my feet made more challenging as I was now in the clouds with poor visibility. To avoid some precipitous drops in the mist which hid everything more than a few metres away I needed to follow the route on my GPS very closely, its author clearly had the benefit of better visibility to pick the best way up. It was slow progress peering at my GPS while using my "sticks" to gain purchase and push me up on the steep, loose stones, but the climb did eventually give way to a plateau. After some downhill and a low ridge the trail suddenly hit a long, straight fault in the landscape, which created a cliff where the ground had dropped away into the mist. My route continued along its line for some way until it found a way down onto a bank of snow. I was pleased to join a vehicle track a little later which took me to the sights around Leirhnjúkur.

The first of these was the Krafla crater lakes, the water an attractive bluish white hue with some steaming and sulphurous fumaroles nearby. Joining the tarmac road a sign said that they had drilled into magma at around 2900 metres (must have been dramatic) and that there were reserves of hot water at shallower depths. A power station in the valley was using this geothermal energy, this hot water to produce electricity. Silver pipes spidered across a valley linking wells drilled to produce the hot water (or dispose of the waste) to the power plant. Orange domes had been placed on the wells. More smelly fumaroles were nearby, a wooden boardwalk, slippery with a film of wet clay and in a poor state of repair led me around them. Steam beached from holes in the beige coloured hills, which contrasted to the recent black lava flows which filled the valleys beyond. 

I had intended to wild camp somewhere in this area but thought I could make the Myvatn area by 7 or 8 pm where there would be more facilities. The path to Reykjahlíð was an exciting one, crossing recent lava with a ropey, pahoehoe surface, with caves and fissures to avoid stepping into. While it was fun jumping from one chunk of lava to another, the path also slowed me down. Once off the lava I did speed up although there were ascents and descents to cope with and photos to take (no point rushing and missing the whole point of the hike). Approaching 8 pm, I arrived at the campsite. I noticed they had some huts, and given the wet state of much of my stuff, I decided to stay in one, a chance to dry my socks!

Moss and lichens.

 

Hliðarhagi tourist hut.

One of the Kafla crater lakes.

Geothermal power station in the valley.

Recent black lava filling the base of the valley.

Lake Mývatn comes into view. 

Jökulsárhlaup trail Ásbyrgi to Dettifoss: Iceland trip Day 24

A day following a gorge up to the giant and much visited Dettifoss waterfall.

It is raining on my tent as I write this, there has been drizzle from the dark clouds for much of the day, which did not show the landscape in its best light, a pity. The walk started well, among low birch and willow trees along the top of the cliffs that enclosed Ásbyrgi. Then, confused by a misleading sign, I took an unintended, longer path, which led me more directly to the gorge of the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum. I was following the Jökulsárhlaup trail, along which an annual "marathon" is run, the best time was 2 hours 3 minutes, it took me 10 hours 30 minutes! A large amount of turbulent, dirty water was flowing down the deep, wide gorge, in general the trail followed the rim giving a good view of the rocks and rapids below. I walked through areas of heathland with low creeping birch and willow, some heather and what looked like blueberry bushes; at other times the path was through rocks and ash. Near Vesturdalur there were some startling rock formations of twisted lava, before a parking area and campsite. On a sunny day I might have stopped for the night there and completed a few local hikes in the afternoon, but the site was almost closed and gloomy in the dull weather, a sign said you could camp if you paid the fee at Ásbyrgi visitor centre, 5 hours walk back down the trail! So continuing, there were further unusual rock formations, two rock towers in particular called "Karl og Kerling" were signposted. There were some wooden bridges but one river had to be waded across. Unlike a runner that passed me, I removed my boots to avoid wet feet for the next few days, although with the rain gradually seeping in they were pretty wet anyway.

Nearer Dettifoss a sign suggested you avoid the riverside path, especially if you had a rucksack, as it was steep and dangerous. Heeding the advice, somewhat reluctantly I followed a safer route away from the river beside a dry gorge, looking like a large "gash" in the land. The Dettifoss campsite, for hikers only, had no sign, just some plastic containers of drinking water and a visitors book. No-one was there so before pitching I continued to the car park thinking there might be an information office or sign, given the popularity of the site, but although there were plenty of cars, there were few facilities, just some long drop latrines. I followed the people walking from their vehicles down to the Dettifoss waterfall. I had seen a few waterfalls on my way up the gorge, but this was certainly the biggest, creating clouds of spray which merged with the rain, as vast volumes of water crashed over a lip of rock into the gorge below. A little higher up river there was another waterfall, Selfoss, more artistic with some of its flow diverted into smaller waterfalls on one side. With the visit to the waterfalls and some other diversions I covered 40 kilometres today with a 870 metre total ascent, a bit on the high side, but it is not much fun to sit around in the rain, you might as well walk.

Ásbyrgi.

Contorted labs flows by Vesturdalur.

"Karl og Kerling".

Looking up the gorge.

Dettifoss.

Selfoss.