Icelandic Adventure Trek

BY ED PHILLIS

There’s a joke in Iceland that goes ‘What do you do if lost in an Icelandic forest?’ ‘Stand up’. I hadn’t quite anticipated how lacking in vegetation it would be. This ecological disaster attributed to the Vikings’ lust for building materials is not, however, reflected in the lush greenery that awaits you at Thorsmork – endpoint of the Laugavegur trail.  Iceland seldom disappoints visually.

The trail starts at Landmannalaugar some 55km to the north. I arrived on a bus from Reykjavik at a plateau surrounded by striking Rhyolite.

I had booked into a hut but the midnight sun, excitement and snoring meant a bad night’s sleep so I got up at 5, drank a coffee and set off in the knowledge that I was probably alone on the Laugavegur.

The first day is the hardest and starts with a climb up through sulphurous steam vents onto the Brennisteinsalda volcano. By 9am I was joined by a speedwalking Frenchman called Alban, whose back I saw for much of the day excepting breaks. The landscapes were immediately and persistently stunning, with an unimaginable range of rock colour.

By 10 we had reached the hut at Hraftinnusker, surrounded by snow-covered mountains overlooking an expanse of a snow field. Being too early (probably the result of the speedwalking Frenchman), the warden arranged for me to stay further down the trail at Hvangill. I chatted with a group of Norwegian women who’d privately arranged to have food and luggage shuttled between huts. My aching back was envious.

Onward to Hvangill. At the edge of the snow field, we crossed mountain streams and spewing steam vents. Iceland, in parts, seemed to be struggling to contain the innards of the world. We started to climb steeply again. I had seen the view from the top in books, assuming their vivid colours and reliefs must have been enhanced, but the real landscapes are more stunning and unworldly than even the photos had shown.
A little further along and the trail opens out in front of you. The landscape becomes marginally greener and you start to descend a steep and zig-zagging path towards the hut and lake at Alftavatn. Shortly we arrived at our first serious water crossing. We assessed our options.  We waded through gingerly but both made it across safely and we’re soon stopping for lunch. The warden was English and reflected the effusive and hospitable nature of the Icelandic people. Other hikers were at the end of their day’s hike and already into the wine. I had a further 5km to go. The next short leg of the journey to Hvangill was remarkable mainly for my growing fatigue.

I said my goodbyes to Alban at Hvangill, who fancied that 29kms wasn’t enough for one day and continued on. I was exhausted and glad to be met by a friendly warden, with whom I readily exchanged 300 Icelandic krona for a shower token.

That evening I got chatting to a mostly Icelandic group also staying in the hut. They invited me to join them the next day. We set off after breakfast the following day in light drizzle. Within half an hour we were crossing the freezing and fast-flowing Kaldaklofskvisl river; luckily mishaps were avoided but it was amusing to watch the unsteady traverse of my group as we tackled it tentatively. Having crossed the river we diverted from the beaten track and headed towards the Myrdalsjokull glacier.

After a couple of hours the glacier loomed imposingly on the horizon; an enormous mass of ice, peppered at the edge with black boulders that it had rejected in its course.  We stopped for pictures and moved onwards to Emstrur.

As the day went on, the weather improved and by four o’clock we could see Emstrur in the distance.  Flailing blonde hair and expensive hiking gear shone like a beacon. My thoughts turned to Captain Scott and being beaten to the South Pole by a group of blonde Norwegian women.  Emstrur is situated close to Syðri Emstruá  gorge. Well worth half an hour detour.

I showered and shared supper with a German couple in the group. We laughed heartily to compensate for the fact that we were the worst prepared food-wise. After savoury rice, I joined the Norwegian group for evening entertainment. They were mostly employees of a paint company and keen to ply me with a pretty disgusting Icelandic liquorice flavoured liquor called Topas.

As I had covered so much ground on the first day, the third day was to be my last on the Laugavegur. The end point of Thorsmork was less than 20km away. I rejoined my group from the previous day and we set out in sunshine. We passed the Syðri Emstruá gorge from another, no less impressive, angle.

One of the most significant geographic phemonena on the last stage of the trek is the Einhyrningur – the Unicorn. With its massive jutting horn, it reminded me of rock formations from Westerns. Along the route I chatted a lot to new buddies. Hiking and talking sets your feet into auto pilot and somehow frees the mind to function beyond its normal usage.

We followed the trail stopping occasionally for breaks or to cross water, and some time in the early afternoon arrived at the nature reserve of Thorsmork. Before arriving at our destination we had to navigate the widest and strongest river crossings. By this point, our group had converged with the Norwego-Icelandic group and there were some 50 or 60 people wearing that expression of intense cold jangling on nerves.

I arrived at Skagfjordsskali in Thorsmork and was happy to see the Norwegians. A few drinks and a few wisecracks later, I took a stroll up to a clifftop that overlooked the huts and a vast, yet mostly now empty, riverbed. I beamed the smile of a happy, if slightly intoxicated, camper. Somewhat inappropriately, yet strangely fitting, the words of the Van Morrison song ‘Coney Island’ came to mind: ‘Wouldn’t it be great if it was like this all the time?’

5 Laugavegur tips

1) Take an eye mask for the midnight sun
2) If you’re not on a budget see if you can get luggage, fresh food and beer transported between huts.
3) Take extra batteries for your digital camera – you will want to use it A LOT.
4) Make sure you have an old pair of trainers for the river crossings.
5) You need to be relatively fit. It’s quite a demanding trek in parts and you don’t want to be aching so that you can concentrate on the beauty.

Want to know more about Iceland, why not check out one of these books?
: Ocean Crossing Wayfarer: To Iceland and Norway in a 16ft Open Dinghy by Frank Dye
: Iceland Insight Guide by Apa
: The Rough Guide to Iceland by David Laffman