Well, six months later, the post is finally finished. Without further ado, here is one of several posts I'll write about our trip to Iceland!
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What happened during our 25 km (15.5 miles) 2-day volcanic hike in Iceland has topped our short list of most adventurous hiking adventures (See Torres Del Paine, Kalalau lookout, Kalalau trail (not finished, oops.)
This time, we did the Fimmvorduhals trail. From Skogar, over the Fimmvorduhals pass (between Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull ice caps) with an overnight stay at the lovely Fimmvörðuhálsskali hut (~5500 ISK/person) and making our final stretch to Basar (towards Þórsmörk). The trail itself was a fairly easy one except maybe near the end of it approaching Basar where one slip can lead to your death or a serious injury. But overall, it was an easy hike. The difficult part was the unpredictable weather which we read much about and knew what to expect but we were not prepared for a hurricane. The remnants of hurricane/cyclone Cristobal was upon us during our hike and was responsible for the high wind and constant rain we endured. That's when I learned that my gear and shoes were NOT waterproof. They were way past their water repellent capabilities when the rain just kept coming down.
Rain, wind, freeze and no waterproofing made the hike just super unpleasant. Dave's shoes and clothes held up but not his bag pack. What should have been a moderate and glorious hike alongside Iceland's most famous volcano became a series of ups and downs.We found ourselves in a pickle many times but with the wisdom gathered from watching hours of Bear Grylls show and Dave's quick thinking, we survived our trek and came out empowered.
