I started decamping at 6:30 am while all the other campers were sleeping except for two friendly puppies wanting some attention. Today's trek involved climbing over three or four ridges, the mountains around me streaked with snow. There were two lakes to admire and a few small streams to cross. Maybe a little more vegetation than on previous days; moss, clumps of pink thrift, purple thyme, low and creeping, cushions of moss campion (which I identified from a sign at Landmannalaugar).
Towards the end of the walk I descended into a broad, flat bottomed valley, filled by a wide, braided stream, with many more banks of pebbles than flowing water. Surrounding mountains, largely formed of ash, were now shades of cream, ochre and red, a sharp contrast to the black I had been walking among. Occasional towers of rock rose up from the mountain slopes. Shortly after I joined the famous Langavegur trail for the last few kilometres to Landmannalaugar. It was quite different, there were many people out walking, or on mountain bikes threatening to knock me over. The path was well constructed and ropes each side stopped you straying off it onto blocks of lava, black and glassy.
I pitched my tent at the two or three huts that constitute Landmannalaugar but decided against bathing in the hot springs as a sign warned of "swimmers itch". A group of bathers, their skin bright pink, evidently decided to risk it. The Ranger's guided walks looked interesting but sadly not run on Mondays so, as it was only lunchtime I decided to go on a little walk from the campsite. I thought the circular walk up Blahnukur and down a gorge look suitable, the peak did not look too high. My mistake became apparent after sweating up some significant height, Blahnukur was not the summit I imagined but a much higher one behind it. Still, I managed to reach it, pushing up the loose stone slopes, by a few outcrops of lava. From the top I could see some 80 kilometres to three of Iceland's Ice caps, white on the horizon under the sunshine (feeling very blessed to have such good weather on the trip so far). Coming down, after a steep slope there was a river to cross which I managed in my boots only slightly wetting my socks. Much of the rest of the walk was through a landscape of jagged blocks of lava. Much of it was obsidian, a black volcanic glass with shiny surfaces, formed when the lava cools very quickly.
On my return to camp I discovered a shop in an old bus, so I will celebrate finishing the Hellismannaleid with a paper cup of wine; white, to go with my tinned tuna.
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| After the black ash and white snow the moss beside this small stream appeared too vivid, too colourful, too bright. |
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| Close to Landmannalaugar the hills turn to shades of red and cream as around this waterfall |
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