Iceland Expedition - The Laugavegur Trail 2023
In 2020, NAC planned a epic journey to Iceland to hike the World famous Laugavegur Trail. Unfortunately, the world had different plans. The Pandemic of 2020 forced us to cancel our trip in the hopes that we would be able to host it in the near future. The COVID Pandemic continued on well into 2021, and had residual on 2022 forcing us to hold off until 2023. In July 2023, we were finally able to guide this incredible trail. And wouldn't you know, just as we were about to leave, a volcano decided to erupt on the Island, providing us with another amazing adventure! After the trail, we had time to travel across the Island to visit the new volcano and lava flows! This was an incredible journey, I would recommend it to anyone.
PRE HIKE - July 20, 2023
We arrived in Iceland on July 20th, 2023. After clearing customs and grabbing our luggage, we boarded the Fly Bus and headed to Reykjavik. There, we checked into our rooms at a local hostel and prepared our packs for the 4 day hike. The next morning, we boarded another bus that would take us 4 hours to the trail head at Landmannalaugar.
DAY ONE - July 23, 2023
At 11:40am we arrived at the trail head in Landmannalaugar. After visiting the shops and restrooms, we took our group photo at the trail head, and began our journey. In the first 45 minutes of our hike, I realized that this landscape was nothing like I have ever hiked before and there was going to be a learning curve. First, we would have to deal with the 24 hour daylight. Also, along the way, there was much geothermal activity, and you had to be careful. But, despite all the challenges, this was one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen.
DAY TWO - July 24, 2023
It was not as difficult to fall asleep in the constant sunlight as I thought it would have been. The long hike the day before tired us out and we were able to sleep quite well. However, I did wake up at 4:30am everyday to find that it was bright and sunny. That is, except on this day! It was very foggy out, and there was a light mist. The thick fog made it extremely difficult to follow the trail, and on a few occasions we lost the trail, and even lost our fellow hikers. But using the GPS and a lot of calling out, we were able to stick together and make our way to the next camp. We also had our first water crossing this day. It didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked. A few spent much time looking for the best area to cross, only to find they had chosen poorly. I easily made my way across the river without removing my boots. 32 years of practice made it quite easy for me. However, those that tried to follow me didn't fair so well, and fell into the water. Luckily, we had a wonderful surprise, the next camp had a small make shift restaurant set up near the campgrounds. We were able to get a hot meal, and hot coffee. They even had alcoholic beverages for those that enjoy that type of thing.
