Álftavatn to Landmannalaugar
24 km

This was a challenging day. I decided to go all the way to Landmannalauger rather than stopping overnight as I had originally planned near the huts at Hrafntinnusker. There were several reasons for this. The weather forecast called for a storm to be passing through. Also, I wanted to do some dayhikes in the area around Landmannalauger, which I wouldn't have had time for if I arrived there on the same day I had to leave. So I doubled up the mileage to make it all the way through to the end.

I left early, before people in the other tents were stirring. It was a nice sunny morning.

After a brief level stretch through some nice greenery, the trail climbed sharply upward and snaked through a pass in the mountain Jökultungur. It was very steep, loose gravel and rock, and mostly straight up. They don't seem to believe in switchbacks here. It's hard to judge height in a photo, but you can see Lake Álftavatn in the distance to see where I started the morning's hike.

Here you can see the river Grashagakvísl below. I'm about halfway up the slope.

Now I'm most of the way up ... The river is just a tiny thin ribbon below.

At this point, I met the first of the hikers coming from the other direction. We took photos of each other. You can just see Lake Álftavatn in the distance.

The scenery has changed dramatically in front of me. These mountains are made of the rock rhyolite, which comes in a variety of colors. This is also a geothermally active area -- as soon as I crest the high point, I can see steam wafting across the landscape. You can just barely make out two hikers near the steam plumes.

Snow alternates with patches of neon-green algae.

I arrive at the hut about noon. I've been on the trail for almost 5 hours, with another 3 or 4 hiking hours to go, so I decide to have lunch and take a nice long break here. I spend some time chatting with the hut warden, who is getting the hut cleaned after the morning's guests have left.

Though the warden is very welcoming, this is a bleak spot ... the tent sites are surrounded by rock walls to shield them from the wind. I think I made a good decision by not spending the night here.

It was a very nice rest. I even took my hiking boots off, which felt wonderful -- funny how hiking can make you appreciate the most ordinary things.

But eventually it was time to go ... back on the trail ... over some snowfields

... and into a weird and surprisingly colorful world.

... past a memorial to a hiker who died in a snowstorm very close to the hut ... (on June 27)

... over shards of glossy obsidian ...

You wouldn't want to slip off the trail into the bubbling green cauldron below ...

My destination, Landmannalauger, is in the valley off in the distance. First I have to get around this relatively new black lava flow that is extruded into the landscape.

It's chunky and sharp with strange shapes

Arriving in the tent city of Landmannalauger, I quickly get myself situated and then it's off to the geothermal pool which I've been looking forward to all day!

I'm tired, my feet are sore, and the hot springs feel great. I'm very glad I decided to come all the way here. Tomorrow I have to catch a bus back to Reykjavik; I'll have some time in the morning to explore a little bit.

The rain finally arrived. The last thing I hear before I fall asleep is the sound of raindrops on my snug little tent.