Hike across Iceland - Iceland traverse - Route planning

Click here to see the route in viewranger

The route for our hike across is in place. It has been that for a while. We have had a couple of planning weekends where we have been through the gear list, our food supply's and not least the route.

I think the word route is the correct term for the trip. There is no definite hiking trail from north to south. There are stories about old roads or paths that the locals used to horseback. But these no longer exist. We are going to hike approx. 550 kilometers and expect it takes about 22 days. Additionally adding. 3 zerodays (rest days).

The first week from start to Myvatn we hike on gravel roads, the so-called F-roads, replaced by a 34 km hiking trail from Asbyrgi to Dettifoss along Jökulsa, which is kind of Icelands Grand Canyon. Dettifoss is Europe's largest waterfall with a water flow of 193 cubic meters per day. second.

After Dettifoss we go the cross country to the town of Reykjahlíð, which is located by Lake Myvatn (the last camp in the picture below) In Reykjahlíð we have a zeroday. Here we have a day where we just relax. The town has a supermarket, hot springs and a pizzeria. So we will not be bored. At Reykjahlíð we will also pick up our first food depot, which we have sent from Reykjavik.



The top camp is Asbyrgi, where the trail along Jökulsa starts. P marks the parking spot at Dettifoss. Last camp is at Myvatn

The 2. leg, which is the longest, is expected to take one and a half to two weeks. We must cross the Icelandic highlands. A monochrome desert, where the only colors come from single flowers or a bird on the way. In connection with the planning of the trip, we have had contact with ICESAR, the Icelandic rescue service. We filled out an online travel description with information about our route and which gear we brought along with us. They could tell that drinking water can be difficult to find in the area south of Myvatn. So we are going to carry some water on this stretch.

Second leg - from first camp at Myvatn to bottom drinking glass. Here it can be difficult to get water

The picture below shows the last part of the second leg. Here are some rivers we need to cross. This also gives us access to drinking water. The second leg ends at Landmannalaugar, where we pick up our second and last food supply take another zero day.

The first part of the third and last leg is on the legendary hiking trail Laugavegur. The hiking trail often appears on top lists of the world's most beautiful hiking trails. The trail is approx. 55 kilometers long and runs up and down of rhyolith colored mountains.

Mountains at Laugavegur

Laugavegur stops at Thorsmark. From here we hike in snow crossing over a mountain ridge and between the two glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. Below Eyjafjallajokull there is a volcano that erupted last time in 2010. Hopefully it will be in hibernation until we finish Iceland.

The route in between the glaciers

On the other side of the mountain ridge we take a path that follows the Skoga River. The Skoga river flows to and ends by the Skogafoss waterfall. A waterfall known from the Vikings series. Now we are at Icelands old coastline. The new coast is about 5 kilometers away.

We expect to end the trip at Dyrhólaey. Here there is symbolically another lighthouse, like where we started in the north

6 dage på Trækstien og Naturstien Horsens-Silkeborg

Dagene op til påsken blev brugt på en 6 dages træningstur, som en del af forberedelsen til Island på tværs i sommeren 2018. Vi valgte at kombinerer trækstien (Randers til Silkeborg) samt Naturstien (Horsens-Silkeborg), hvilket gav os ca. 150 kilometer.

Hike across Iceland - Iceland traverse - Gearlist

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.

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.

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.

Kungsleden Hemavan - Jäkkvikk, dag 8

Den sidste dag på en vandretur, er altid med blandede følelser for mig. En tur man har glædet sig til, er ved at slutte. Jeg tænker tit på den sidste dag som en transportdag, hvorfor den eventyrlige og nysgerrige tilgang ofte falder lidt i baggrunden. Tanker om transport hjem og andre praktiske ting, begynder at melde sig, hvilket måske er med til at lægge turen bag sig. Jeg glæder mig også til at komme hjem til familie og venner.

Kungsleden Hemavan - Jäkkvikk, dag 7

Dagen skulle blive en våd og kort dag på lidt over 16 km. Vi startede med regntøj på og tog det kun af, når vi holdt pause i teltet. Terrænet var fladt og bestod i starten mest af lavt voksende buske og en våd og mudret sti. På grund af en kølig vind, tåge og til tider regn, valgte vi at slå teltet op efter et par timer for at holde en tiltrængt pause. At anvende teltet ved pause er nemt, da det kun tager et par minutter at slå op. Det giver os læ for vinden, ly for regnen og gør at vi kan slappe af og holde varmen.

Kungsleden Hemavan - Jäkkvikk, dag 6

Efter en behagelig nat i en hytte, startede vi morgenen med en stejl stigning op af fjeldsiden, gennem en birkeskov, hvor der sporadisk var god udsigt tilbage mod fjeldet hvor vi gik i går.

Kungsleden Hemavan - Jäkkvikk, dag 5

Vi spiser morgenmad i køkkenet på vandrehjemmet og udveksler høflige blikke med de 2 endnu fremmede vandrere. Under morgenmaden kigger vi kort og ser på dagens rute. Vi skal gå stik nord ca. 2/3 dele af dagen for så at dreje i syd igen. Det meste af dagen kommer til at foregå over trægrænsen, hvilket vi glæder os til.