Overview
Location: Iceland
Dates: 7/30/2017 – 8/2/2017 (4 days hiking)
Route: Laugavegur Trail plus Fimmvörðuháls (North to South)
Distance: 48 miles
Isn’t it a strange thing that, however contradictory this may sound, some memories become stronger as they fade away? Where all those details, those specifics, those unnecessary minutiae that only serve to make the memory too busy, get hewn away. And what you’re left with is these unencumbered pure snapshots, these lingering lifelong impressions, made all the more vivid, not only in spite of but also because of the faded particulars. Like remembering that one beautiful childhood sunlit day as just a time of bright happy light.
Here I am writing about this trip, over 6 years ago, but the impressions still shine. It is the summer of 2017, me and my four friends, Danny, Mike, Claire, and Kate, set out to trek the Laugavegur Trail in Iceland, which also happened to be my first backpacking trip ever. And I remember things from the eternal daylight, the ice cold water crossings, the mindblowing, jawdropping beauty of the land, to the mundanity of water filterings and freeze dried food cooking. And most of all I remember the camaraderie, the group naps, the fear we all shared getting out of a hot spring into cold air, and I remember playing President cramped in Danny’s two person tent.
There’s a quote I read: “At some point in your childhood, you and your friends went outside to play together for the last time and nobody knew it,” and I can’t help but feel like this trip is like the twenty-somethings version of that. And it’s a quite a thing realizing part of your past has become nostalgia. And how lucky am I that this nostalgia comes in a form which, even after all the other adventures of the last six years, remain one of the most beautiful three days backpacking I’ve ever experienced.
The Route
We hiked the standard Laugavegur in three days, plus one day on the Fimmvörðuháls, which is a popular extension of the trek. Dispersed camping is not allowed, so we camped outside the huts along the trail. You can also stay in the huts if you’re willing to book far in advance and pay for it (but while camping you can still take advantage of most of the amenities, flush toilets and all!).
Day 0: Landmannalaugar
We spent all of the day bussing from Reykjavík to the trailhead at Landmannalaugar, and camped at the trailhead for the night. The bus ride was amazing in and of itself and I went from thinking we paid too much for the bus ride at $100 a person to thinking we paid too little. It was like a roller coaster ride getting in there and I heard my dad’s voice in my mind “the poor suspension on this bus!” It was also cool driving into the heart of Iceland’s crazy barren lunar like landscape. Usually traveling Iceland involves sticking to the coasts since that’s where the main highway navigates, but this took us into the center, the type of place where they’d stage that final battle in The Northman (spoilers I guess?).
Upon arrival we started to set up our camp. The Landmannalaugar campsite was windy and cold, and the weather was dreary. I was concerned every night would feel like this one, and regretted not bringing a pair of gloves. I made due wrapping my hand in my bandana.
After making camp, we still had a lot of time to kill so we all decided to take a dip in the hot spring nearby. This would be the closest thing we’d have to a shower for the next three days, so I wanted to enjoy it. As far as hot springs go, this was an alright one. There were hot and cold spots, and you had to jockey your way to the best spots after other visitors vacated them. The hardest part by far was getting out of the hot spring into the cold air. We spent at least fifteen minutes dragging our feet and complaining about how unbearable it would feel. It was like those cold winter mornings where it feel impossible to get out of bed and you could just about live the rest of your life under your warm and cozy sheets protected from both cold and the weary day ahead. I was just about prepared to die in that hot spring, but inspiration comes from unlikely places. A pair of japanese tourists next to us, without any consternation, and even more amazingly, without a single word to each other, just hopped out of the hot spring, slipped their flip flops on, and walked away bare-chested into the chill air. If they could do it, we could do it too. And we did. And it really wasn’t that bad. Even though the air was cold, we still felt residual warmth from the long soak in the warm water.
We all went to bed. And this was the first time I discovered that I need some other fabric between me and sleeping bag or else I’ll sweat…really badly. I woke up many times throughout this trip with intense night sweats, a terrible combination of damp coldness, and sweaty hotness, that I tried to ameliorate by wrapping myself in a large linen towel, and poking my legs through the arms of my collared hiking shirt (my pants were much too uncomfortable to wear to sleep in), all in the hopes of putting a layer between my skin and the sweat-inducing nylon.
Day 1: Landmannalaugar to Álftavatn
We woke up bright and early, or maybe dull and late, I don’t really remember. But what I do remember was just how beautiful and, even more so, how varied the landscapes were. It was like a cartoon montage, where you’d see the protagonists walking in the desert, in the snow, in the forest, in the rain, it felt like we experienced all that in one day. The way the trail changed from one mile to the next was unlike any trail I had hike before or since.
First we hiked through the cooled down remnants of old lava fields. Then as we climbed up, new vistas opened up. We started to see round, moss and snow covered hills. It was beautiful and barren.
One of the highlights of the day was when our hike took us by a live geyser. It’s the type of thing that of would be hidden behind layers of security, chains, and selfie taking tourists in Yellowstone, but here, it was just right there. Just right there, existing in natural splendor. Close enough to touch and dive in if you’re really stupid.
After this, we hiked higher and up into the snow. There was a lot of talk about how a “permanent snowfield” was different from a “glacier.” I hope Danny can chime in here and explain what was what we walked through1.
We eventually made it to Hrafntinnusker, which is the first place that many people camp on the Laugavegur. It actually would have been our campsite for the day if we stuck to our original itinerary—we scrambled to rearrange our plans at the last minute due to some lost luggage (RIP Wow Air, you will not be missed). We were actually glad to skip this one because it was cold and windy, even in the middle of the day. Instead we needed to push forward to Álftavatn… I have no clue how to pronounce the names of any of these places.
We walked over a lot of snow after Hrafntinnusker. Eventually we got to lower elevations and the weather warmed up as we had our final climb of the day. At the top we were treated to some of the most breathtaking views I’ve ever seen. Words don’t do it justice, so I’ll let the pictures tell the tale.
We were hit in the face with more and more wondrous views as we made our way towards our camp at Álftavatn. This might have been the most spectacular part of the whole hike. Álftavatn is a lake sitting at the bottom of a valley surrounded by pointy, mossy peaks. The trail provides a really dramatic reveal and then descent into the valley.
I also think I ripped my pants after sliding on my ass in the snow somewhere. I had to duct tape it up, as was the style of the time.
We also saw goats. There was remarkably little wildlife throughout the entire hike (and on the entire island, really) other than small herds of goats.
We eventually made it to Álftavatn. Apparently Mike was so eager to get to camp that Claire saw him running ahead like an eager schoolboy. Álftavatn was a beautiful camp by a picturesque lake with a mirror like surface. Even better was the perfect weather that greeted us. That cold, windy weather at Landmannalaugar and Hrafntinnusker gave way to temperate, clear, sunny conditions.
The campsite had pretty great amenities including running water, bathrooms, and even a restaurant. We did not partake, which is definitely a difference between young man Siyang and old man Siyang, because me now would have been all over food and beer at that restaurant.
The sun really never sets this time of year in Iceland. For all I know, these pictures could’ve been taken at midnight. The clear skies forced me to sleep with my bandana tied around my eyes like a cowboy sleep mask… yeehaw-shew.
Day 2: Álftavatn to Emstrur
Today was the shortest day of the trip, but no less scenic. The weather was perfect, the sky was blue, if there were birds, they’d be chirping. But there were no birds. This is not a hike for animal watching. Though based on the views, those animals are really missing out.
We experienced several river crossings today, and the river crossings here are absolutely brutal. Those rivers were some of the coldest I’ve ever had to walk through, like polar plunge level cold, and they weren’t super short crossings either. I think at the end of this one, I immediately sat down to rub my frozen numb feet warm.
Some of today was spent hiking through the Basalt Desert, which was pretty cool, like hiking through a sea of black rock. A lot of the landscape and geology here must’ve been formed by geothermal stuff that I can’t explain or understand. We actually did meet a geologist at some point who mentioned he hikes the Laugavegur Trail every year. I can see why.
With most of the Basalt Desert behind us, we scrambled up atop this big ass rock to have lunch.
After the up and down of the day before, today was almost all flat. And unlike many flat hikes, it was actually beautiful. Almost everywhere in the US, you pretty much have to climb up stuff to see anything good because you need to get over treeline to get the views. Like even on the Appalachian Trail, most of the hike is in green tunnel. But here, there are few plants getting in your eyeline, so you’re just surrounded completely in the austere beauty of Iceland.
Not too long after lunch we could see our campsite of the night, Emstrur. We capped our short hiking day with a long nap. Well, everyone else napped—I was still buzzing with excitement at the breathtaking beauty my eyes got to enjoy today. I set up camp, walked around the campsite recalling the day behind and anticipating the days to come. I was learning how much I enjoyed backpacking. I was learning to revel in the simple satisfaction of walking from point A to point B, and how simple life can be. There’s such a minimalist appeal to backpacking. Here I am walking on my own two feet, with everything I need to survive upon my own back, being my own porter, my own taxi, my own shelter, entirely self (and team) powering this journey to new and wondrous destinations.
Day 3: Emstrur to Þórsmörk
I don’t remember this day particularly well. I mean, if you couldn’t tell, I don’t remember any of it particularly well, but this day especially. Most of the day was spent walking along and across a giant gorge formed by the Syðri-Emstruá River, which I totally just now looked up.
In the gorge we walked across some cool bridges and there were some ropes set up to help navigate the trickier sections. It was cloudy and gloomy most of the day (at least according to the pictures) but there were still some cool views. Oh, and I ripped my pants again.
We made it to camp eventually at Þórsmörk (or Thorsmork), and this marked the official end to the Laugavegur Trail. It must’ve drizzled a bit or something because I remember all five of us cramming into Danny’s two person tent and playing President. I don’t think I won a lot because I would remember better if I did.
Day 4: Þórsmörk to Skógar
The last day, and one of the most memorable of the trip. After completing the Laugavegur the day prior, today we’d be hiking the Fimmvörðuháls (good luck pronouncing that one) from Thorsmork to Skógar. It wasn’t an easy day either2. First we had to ascend to the glaciers between Eyjafjallajökull (that’s the one that erupted in 2010) and Mýrdalsjökull. It was beautiful climb up. We were surrounded by a lime green mossy wonderland as green as the hills of Scotland.
As we got higher and higher up, our visibility started to get worse and worse. The lush green landscapes gave way to some nice lush fog.
Soon the fog completely blanketed everything. All we could see was the trail and (barely) each other.
Anyways, we had a bus to catch in Skógar, so we kept climbing and soldiering onward. It’s a bit regretful that we were met with such low visibility because we likely would’ve had some spectacular views on a clear day in this area. At the same time, the fog, gloom, and doom seems a more authentic pairing to the surrounding landscape.
After climbing up both on our own two feet and sometimes even with the assistance of chains they had installed, we eventually made it up to the glacier. So instead of the uninspiring dirt and fog views, we now had views of snow and fog. It was a bit difficult travel, since now that we were walking through snow, we only had the footsteps of previous hikers as our guide. There were tall yellow poles sunk into the ground every couple hundred feet, but visibility was so low that we couldn’t always see them. We actually walked in a complete circle one time, but were set on course by some kind hikers who were using a GPS.
When we finally reached the top we were soaking wet and freezing cold. Fortunately there’s a small hut at the top so we spend some time warming up inside.
Well what goes up must come down. And the down part was pretty awesome. As we descended, the fog began to thin out, and we were again greeted with the verdant green landscapes that we so enjoyed on our climb up. Even more welcome was that pretty much the entire walk from here until Skógar was waterfalls all the way down.
And finally, we made it! No worse for the wear, though a bit wetter. After over 40 miles of hiking, we arrived the majestic Skógafoss waterfall where a bus would be picking us up and taking us back to Reykjavík back to civilization, cell service (expensive international plan cell service), and modern life.
As the bus rolled along and I saw the magnificent highlands of Iceland out the window, I thought about how lucky it was to actually be deeply within it. Despite the alluring prospects of a warm shower, real food, and a soft bed, despite the long days of hiking with a heavy 30 lb pack, despite the soreness inside my body and dirt and grime outside of it, the only thought on my mind was “when can I get back out again?”
Bonus Content
So this hike wasn’t the end of our adventure. After we returned to Reykjavík, we rented a camper van, which after 4 nights straight of camping felt like a mansion. We circumnavigated Iceland’s ring road and many more awesome things. Honestly, there was enough in this part of the trip to actually warrant its own post3, but that’s a bit of a deviation from our normal content, so for now, I’ll throw in some pictures of it here instead.
