Íslandsferð Níu Part 2

Sitting in Hrafntinnusker, drinking vodka and having a snack, surrounded by absolutely incredible scenery. Holy fuck. What a day. We had great weather which was absolutely crucial. We took the bus to Landmannalaugar and hiked 5 hours to here. Set up camp, had dinner, then Loftur and I took a 2-hour hike to nearby Íshellir. I know it's a cliché but it's so true: words cannot do it justice. Absolutely unbelievable. It was everything, everything I hoped it would be. I just hope we get lucky with the weather because, for me, everything hinges on that. If the weather's good, it's absolutely divine, otherworldly. If bad, it's absolute misery and frustration. Today was not easy by any stretch of the imagination. I'm so fucking tired and sore. There was way more snow than I expected, which is harder to traverse. I may regret going to Íshellir tomorrow as my right leg is in quite some pain now. ...Actually, no, I won't. That was so fucking worth it. Today we gained a lot of elevation which we will lose tomorrow. I think tomorrow is pretty much all downhill, whereas today was pretty much all uphill. At least we'll lose the snow (hopefully anyway).

Man, I can't believe I'm here. I'm sitting by our tents in a rocky clearing of obsidian. Nearby, across a small canyon, steam is blowing out of the side of the mountain. It sounds like a waterfall of varying intensity, and when the wind is right, I can smell it's sulphurous emissions. Iceland's surreal and otherworldly beauty was on full display for me today and I'm just so filled to bursting with it. It's a wonderful feeling. Now comes an unpleasant task: trying to get to sleep (hence the vodka). I could probably write for another hour or two about how this has all affected me and reflect on life back home or whatever, but it's late and Loftur & Gyða are already in bed, so I don't want to be up too late. I'm going to have to disturb them anyway when I climb in there in a few minutes. But, yeah, man, what a fucking great day. I pray we get lucky with the weather. Góða nótt.

SIGHTS ON THE WAY TO LANDMANNALAUGAR
The town of Hveragerði, with its geothermal steam rising into the low-hanging cloud cover	Hekla, Iceland's most active volcano, also known as the gateway to Hell	Various sights from the bus (excuse the window glare)	Just off the bus in Landmannalaugar	Views around the cabin site in Landmannalaugar
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THE HIKE BEGINS
Laugahraun	Brennisteinsalda	South of Brennisteinsalda	Continuing on	Stórihver	The final snow-covered stretch on the approach to Hrafntinnusker
Hrafntinnusker	On the way to Íshellir	Íshellir	On the way back to the cabin	Our campsite	My writing location

Sitting on the banks of the placid lake Álftavatn drinking vodka and smoking a cigar. Today was even better than yesterday! Got some half-decent sleep last night. It wasn't as cold as I expected. Maybe it was due to my two tentmates' body heat rather than the ambient temperature. I expect it had to have been. We were up in the mountains, surrounded by snow, ferchrissakes. If I had been alone (as I originally thought I would be), I probably would've froze. We got up around 8:30 and had breakfast. As we were packing up to leave a heavy fog rolled in, making me a bit uneasy. We set out around 10:30 amid heavy clouds and intermittent fog. The first third of the walk was mostly in snow, so it wasn't that enjoyable, but the scenery was, of course, great.

Breakfast in Hrafntinnusker

I initially couldn't figure out how this huge chunk of snow got to be on this deck. The obvious later dawned on me: it was a snowdrift whose edges had melted. Duh.

Breaking camp, fog coming in

Heading out from Hrafntinnusker

I had NO idea what was to be had on the rest of the hike. Absolute jaw-droppingly surreal beauty. I seriously don't think I've ever seen as many incredible sights in my life. Certainly not within a single 8-km-or-so stretch. I'm still not totally convinced this hasn't been some orgasmic nature dream. I guess the most convincing argument against that would be that this stuff was beyond even my powers of imagination.

By the time we got around a third of the way through the day's hike, the weather cleared up rather nicely, if not totally. Just in time for us to reach Háskerðingur, a mountain that the guide book made me determined to hike if the weather permitted. The hike up Háskerðingur required first (or so the guidebook said) a hike up a smaller, unnamed mountain (or Ónefntfjall). We all hiked up it only to encounter a huge fog bank had moved in when we got to the top. Knowing the transiency of Icelandic weather, we waited awhile to see if it would blow over. It mostly did after awhile, but not before Gyða & Guðbjörg had started to descend. Loftur & I decided to take the chance and go forward while Venni & Inga naturally chose to stay with their daughter. They all set off and said they'd meet us here in Álftavatn, where we're camping. The hike up Háskerðingur was not easy by any means. 280 meters up a steep mountainside covered entirely with snow, but we did it. Unfortunately, the fog to the southwest never cleared, but we got a pretty much clear 270° view in all other directions. We hiked back around Ónefntfjall which was much easier than going up and down its 1150 m peak again.

The next portion of the hike was the truly unbelievable part. Absolutely incredible. I won't even try to describe it because I can't begin to do it justice. I hope the dozens of pictures I took can even somewhat capture it. The next portion, Jökultungur, is where we cashed in all the elevation we gained since the start of the hike (we are now pretty much back where we started elevation-wise). A steep descent into this lowland where we are now. The final portion was not as spectacular, but still beautiful.

Back on the trial

Some indescribable gorge

Mind-blowing sights back
on the trail again

Niðurgangur á Jökultungum

Various sights on the approach to Álftavatn

We got into camp at 19:00, almost on the dot, to find the rest of the group waiting for us. When I went to pay for the campsite I got to talking to the people in charge here. It wasn't until after a good 10 minutes that they recognized me from the short hike we took together up Grímansfell in Mosfellsbær the last time I was here two years ago. Again, I shouldn't be surprised by this kind of thing here anymore, but I just can't help it, coming as I do from a nation of over 300 million people. After chatting with them for a long while, I went back to camp to have dinner with the rest of the group. Had a hot meal (thanks to them) which was positively marvelous, then we all came to the lake for a quick visit. I stayed here to write and finish my cigar. Since they've left it's gotten quite cloudy, which I'm afraid is a portent of bad weather to come. I'm dreading the rain with every fiber of my being, but for now I'm just basking in the afterglow of everything I've seen and experienced today.

I must say it's been one of the best days of my life. I'm so happy for the weather we've had so far. I'm so happy to have these 5 great people as traveling companions. I'm so happy to be here seeing all this incredible nature with my own two eyes. I'm just so fucking happy right now...and that's not the vodka talking. I even got here early enough to do some proper writing, which is rúsínan í pylsuendanum. Now I will finish my cigar, drink a little more, and bask in the serenity, solitude, and natural beauty that I've come to believe only Iceland can offer. I am truly blessed.

Emstrur. Just finished day 3 of the hike. Woke up this morning, much to everyone's surprise, to sunshine. The weather forecast posted by the keepers of the cabin in Álftavatn called for weather similar to the day before, but with rain likely later in the day, so I was preparing myself for the miserable onslaught of bad weather all day. I learned from Vernharður, who is knowledgeable in things pagan, that Þór is the god who is in charge of the weather, so I made it a point to beseech him for favorable weather numerous times throughout the day. If I were inclined to believe in such things, I would say it worked because we had great weather pretty much all day. It was much more cloudy and there was a little bit of rain, but it was so minimal it's not really even worth mentioning.

Today was the longest distance we've covered yet, and it took us 8½ hours, but it didn't feel as long to me because there wasn't nearly as many elevation changes. It was mostly flat, broad wasteland (or technically desert, perhaps). Today's hike wasn't as spectacular as yesterday's, or the day before, but it was still spectacular. Mostly what I am thankful for is another day of favorable weather. At this point it's beginning to feel a bit like a stay of execution. I feel today that I got a call from the warden. Another day to live. Another day to breathe and feel and see and smell the absolute best life has to offer: wild & exotic Icelandic nature, and the company of friendly, like-minded people. I'm riding really high right now. I know I will have to come down again. I just hope it's not a crash landing.

Loftur just took Gyða to see Markarfljótsgljúfur, which him, Vernharður, Inga, and I just got back from seeing. It's not far at all from here. I am disgustingly happy right now. Things are going so much better than I expected that, now that I’m really thinking about it, I’m beginning to get a bit worried. Like something really bad has to be forthcoming to balance things out. I don’t want to think like that, though. That kind of negativity never gets you anywhere. I’m just going to enjoy this amazing time as much as I can for as long as I can. Over and out.

Álftavatn, beautiful weather in the morning	Packing up	Ready to hit the trail	Our first "vað" (river crossing)	Between Álftavatn and Hvanngil	Hvanngil
Heading out from Hvanngil	After crossing Bláfjallakvísl the landscape changed dramatically	Innri-Emstruá	Continuing on	A word about the photography	The most delicate cairn I've ever seen
The final stretch	First sight of Botnar, the cabin at Emstrur.	Our campsite	Basking in the sun on the hillside	On the way to Markarfljótsgljúfur	Markarfljótsgljúfur