Retrospectives: Þórsmörk (Thorsmork) 1: Waymarking Hátindar

 

Þórsmörk is a beautiful green area surrounded by three glaciers, Tindfjallajökull, Eyafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. Having said that, most of the green in this post is moss - trees and flowers coming in the next post. The photos here were taken in 2006 and record a day spent placing waymarking posts along a trail from the glacial outwash rivers of Krossa to a very pretty peak called Hátindar.

First job - prepare the posts, which we will have to carry up the hill along with our hammers.

Above is the view over Krossa from the Langidalur hut. Our job is to mark out the trail to that pointy little summit (arrowed).

But first, the rivers. Back then there was a footbridge over some of them, but wading was still required for much of the way.

Landfall on the other side

Then the long walk up, carrying the posts.

The consolation is, the load gets lighter the higher we go because we are leaving posts behind as we go. The temptation to be avoided is, to hammer in too many posts at the beginning to get them off our backs.

A look back over Krossa to the Langidalur hut

Not dead - just resting

A view from the summit

At the summit, looking across to the edge of Eyafjallajökull

Encounters with foxes on the way down

Nearly down - now only the wading to do

Retrospectives: Highlands 2 - Around Kverkfjöll and Hvannalindir

 

The photos here were taken, around Kverkfjöll and Hvannalindir, at the northern edge of the Vatnajökull glacier.

Highland landscape - with cars if you look carefully

An ICV Trail Team doing a bit of highway maintenance

Waymarking a trail with a difference - this one is for 4x4 enthusiasts.  
 (Note - off road driving is forbidden everywhere in Iceland.)

The charming little oasis at Hvannalindir

Arctic river beauty in bloom at Hvannalindir

The ranger's cabin

Angelica by the riverside and the distinctive bulk of Herðubreið on the skyline

Installing information boards at Hvannalindir

Kverkfjöll hut and campsite

An evening stroll from Kverkfjöll camp site 

Retrospectives: Highlands 1 - Kerlingarfjöll

So let's start with something beautiful. Kerlingarfjöll is a geothermal area between the Hofsjökull and Langjökull glaciers. It is accessed via Routes 35 and F347. ('F' routes are mountain roads, unpaved and rugged; only 4x4's are permitted on them.)

The photos in this post were all taken last time I was there, in August 2019.

The toilet facility above the steps into the gorge. It was on a day like this that I first went down those steps in the previous picture. They were slippery with mud and slush - terrifying! Happily they have now been replaced with something safer.

Those steps from a different angle.

Boiling water and steam vents

WhysWhys in Beast of Burden mode at Kerlingarfjöll.

The camp site in August 2019. It's not all as bleak as it looks here - there's a posh hotel, a bunkhouse and a restaurant too.