When this plan started back in February, we were three against the world… Well, at least three against the trail. We knew there would be challenges, but we were excited in our plans. We connected regularly throughout the year and discussed obstacles and chatted about our growing excitement.
He dropped our three weeks ago, for all the right reasons. We were both sad, but we also knew it was the best choice for all. He wanted to see the start of the trail and do a bit of hiking, so we agreed to go out a day earlier than originally planned. She would join on the original start date, he would see us off, and head back to Reykjavik to await our triumphant return.
We all reunited in Reykjavik and nervously eye the weather. That night, the wind in Reykjavik was surprisingly strong. A flag on a nearby building snapped to attention throughout the night. The next morning, as he and I were scrambling to leave to catch our bus, she let me know that the cold was going to be too much. I could tell she was crushed and I was pretty bummed too. Already a bit frazzled because he and I were running late, I tried my best to reassure her that she was making the right choice while managing my own emotions about what would come next.
He and I caught the bus just in time and in fact were the last to board, so we couldn’t even sit near each other. The bus ride gave me a chance to work thru some of my thoughts on doing this trek on my own. I can’t say that my mind was settled when we arrived, but at I was ready to break the news to him and talk options.
When we arrived in Landmannalaugar, we checked in and found that the hut wouldn’t be ready for 15 minutes or so, so we grabbed a seat in the ‘dining tent’ which was largely for the tent campers to get out of the wind for a bit. We recounted our bus journey and after a bit headed into the hut… To find that a large tour group had already claimed all of the lower slots. Fortunately, we were able to find to mats next to each other on the top row against the windows. We claimed our spots and then headed out on a short hike.
We ended up hiking the first 3km of the trail I would be headed out on tomorrow. We took the time to stop at all the lookouts. Somewhat unusually for me, I took no photos, largely because everyone has already taken them. I was also struck by the fact that none of the amazing photos I’ve seen of that section come close to capturing the beauty. This will be an interesting trip to capture!
I was still chewing on my options for the next day. He didn’t yet know that she had bailed. When we got off the bus I was pretty wrapped up in the cold which worried me and was creeping into my ‘go it alone’ calculus. The hike was great though! I quickly realized that I had all the right gear and just getting moving warmed me up enough to be comfortable. It also made me incredibly sad because it felt like I was dangling the whole experience in front of him. But, he had taken the right decision weeks ago, and stuck with it. And I knew that if I had doubts about the cold, she would have had real struggles.
Standing at one of the overlooks, I let him know that she wouldn’t be coming tomorrow and that I was pretty sure I was still going to do the trek. I outlined my concerns and how I planned to address them and that while I had some nerves, I thought I was good to go ahead. He concurred that this wasn’t just me being stubborn, it was a reasonable decision.
We headed back to the hut and wandered around a bit seeing the local sights and marveling at the folks tent camping. We may also, less charitably, have been making calls on which tents weren’t going to survive the night.
I took the opportunity to chat with the warden and talk through the wind advisory. His take was that since I was hut camping, as long as I was comfortable with hiking in wind, it wasn’t a reason not to go.
In the morning, the true strength of the winds quickly became apparent. One of the tents was completely destroyed overnight and was laying in a tattered heap, splintered poles sticking out like whale bones. I later learned that the couple from that tent ended up sleeping in the shower room as it at least provided some escape from the wind. The canvas hut that we had eaten a quick lunch in the day before was completely blown out as well.
More worryingly, the am warden was essentially telling folks that anyone foolish enough to head out was facing certain death. While the conditions were certainly rougher than I would have liked, certain death seemed a bit fatalistic. He and I chatted it a bit and agreed that nothing had really materially changed from yesterday. And I could always start the trip and turn around if conditions exceeded my comfort level. The distance was such that I could go most of the way and still make it back before the bus left… If I left early enough. I knew I didn’t want to be in the head of the morning crowd, getting elbowed past all day, but I knew too that I wanted to get to the hut before the bus crowd arrived so that there would be a ‘clean-up crew’ behind me if I got into trouble.
I fought thru the tour crowd to get coffee and breakfast. I separated my stuff into ‘coming with me’ and going back to Reykjavik with him. We had talked about him hiking with me for a bit but the wind was fierce, the cold was biting, and he had no gloves. Not a safe combo. So we said our goodbyes just outside the hut and into the hills I trekked.
It was nice to cover known ground because I certainly wasn’t feeling the confident hiker. I startled two sets of sheep and started to wonder if one of the second group was going to come headbutt me. Fortunately, it did not. I was a bit surprised that I saw only one group ahead of me, and no one behind for awhile. Shortly after the known section, I hit the steep part for the day. Home has nothing on these ‘hills’! I was glad I put in the work over the summer… But I definitely wished I had put in more vertical training. Because of the early start, I knew I had oodles of time. But because of the dire warnings and nerves from doing and unplanned solo hike, I really had to work at finding a pace that was modestly reasonable.
Most of the way up the big climb for the day, a couple caught up with me. We chatted briefly – ‘Where are you headed tonight? Me too! See you there!’ and started on at our own pace. We passed back and forth for a bit before an uphill slowed me. They largely remained within sight though, which was both a huge comfort and probably pushed me to go a bit faster. They were super sweet at a particular crux. The trail headed straight down a crumbling cliff. I got a few steps down and between the ground sliding out from under me and the wind threatening to knock me over, I was seriously considering crawling to the top and heading back to Landmannalaugar. I saw them gesturing at me from across the ravine. I eventually understood that if I went back up there was a shallower angled descent into the ravine. The wind died down for a few seconds allowing me to drop to my knees and crawl back up, and sure enough, aside from a yawning snow bridge, the decent was much easier. I quickly crossed the snow field and scrambled up to them on the other side. I thanked them heartily as they headed on. We caught up a couple more times and eventually crossed a fumarole together.
We hit a lava field shortly before the hut and they slipped from my view. The wind was truly impressive in this stretch. I was almost blown off my feet a couple of times by gusts that surprised me from a quartering angle. I’m thankful I ended up bringing the glacier style sunglasses with me, less for the sun protection and more for the side shields that kept the ash and dirt out.
Sooner than expected, the jaunty red of the hut roof popped into view. I stopped into the warden’s hut just as he was wrapping up with my new found friends. This warden was fantastic! So excited about sharing everything and ensuring everyone feels welcome. Rolling in shortly after noon, I had plenty of time to get to know tonight’s hut mates. Fortunately it’s all singles and couples, so it’s easy to meet folks. We shared card games and stories and locals and customs. The other great luxury of meeting and mixing with people of other cultures and perspectives. And I think the silver lining of going solo.
The views of this valley are absolutely incredible! The warden popped in around sunset and chided us all for talking and playing card games instead of sitting out enjoying the view we all earned. We all bundled up and head out to the deck for photos and I am so glad we did!
Tomorrow is another shortish day, but while today was (mostly) always up, tomorrow is mostly always down. The first river crossing is tomorrow, but warden says it should be low because of the cold and lack of rain. Fingers crossed.
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