It's been a while since I've made blog posts about hiking trips. This summer I will cross Iceland on foot along with a friend. We have to go from north to south. A trip of approx. 600 km.
Nevertheless, there has been a couple of trips since 2016, where I finished the Kungsleden, in particular with the same friend I will cross Iceland with. We went to Bornholm and hiked around the island by coast on 6 days in Easter 2017, hiked the Fjällraven Classic in June 2017. In March 2018, I went on a coast to the coastal hike together with Niels Blok aka Ultralight Pedestrian. You can read his tour report here. In Easter 2018, Ove and I combined the 'Trækstien' together with Nature Trail 'Horsens-Silkeborg'. We got a 6 day training trip of approx. 150 km out of this.
The planning of hike across Iceland is in full swing. We land in Reykjavik and spend the night at Reykjavik downtown hostel before heading north. We have two days in Reykjavik, which we will use for buying gas for the jet boiler and to prepare and send two food parcels. We also check in at ICESAR (Islands search and rescue unit) They will get a GPX file of the route so that they know where to look for us if necessary. We have a GPS / Emergency Sender with ... more about it further down
I am currently planning the route more detailed and will make a separate post on this later. Broadly speaking, it is divided into 3 legs where we are self-sufficient:
1. leg - About 1 week from the lighthouse at Hraunhafnartangi to Reykjahlíð
2. leg - About 2 weeks from Reykjahlíð to Landmannalaugar
3. leg - About 1 week from Landmannalaugar to the lighthouse atDyrhólaey.
Overall, we will spend about 4 weeks hiking and average 25 km a day.
The weather in Iceland in July may offer everything from glorious sunshine to rain for hours and possibly snow. In short terms, you have to be prepared for a bit of everything. And as Icelanders say 'If you do not like the weather, wait 15 minutes'. Below are some characteristics of the weather in Iceland in the month we will be hiking.
Month of July:
Temperature day 14 degrees
Temperature wet 8 streets
Number of days with rain17
Rain in millimeters 33-52
20 hours of sunshine
The weather and the fact that we are far away from everything, also affects the weight on the backpack. Normally, my base weight is 4-6 kg. On this trip it is approx. 8 kg. Below is my current gearlist. Click the picture for more detailed list.
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| Click here for more detailed list |
Iceland is located in the middle of the ocean. The landscape is unguarded and open. The 3 big (Tent, Backpack and Sleeping System) are therefore adapted to the conditions. We will be exposed to strong winds. Therefore, the tent must be able to withstand that. I have chosen to bring a Scarp 1 with a solid inner from the Tarptent.
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| To the right Scarp 1 from Tarptent |
Since we can expect temperatures down to the freezing point, I have chosen to bring a Cumulus 350 topquilt. I also bring a silk liner bag to raise the temperature and avoid drafts. Since we will be hiking for about 30 days, I have chosen a Sea To Summit ultralight insulated sleeping pad. It is good in that temperature and provides great comfort. The backpack is a Gossamer gear Mariposa 60l (2016). With the long outer pocket, so I don't have to put a wet and dirty tent in my backpack, and at the same time it makes valuable space free in the backpack for supplies on the long 2.leg of the hike.
With regard to security, we bring a Garmin Explorer +. It works like GPS and emergency transmitters. At the same time, we can communicate 2 way by SMS via satellite, without depending on mobile networks. It can also live track, so family and friends can see where we are.
