a typical view from the front of the bus
Þor, or Þor-urrr-urrr-urrr as Jon pronounces his name, our bus driver picks us up at 8 AM for a quick drive to Hvolsvöllur (grocery shopping) and then on to Seljalandsfoss (waterfall watching and pulsur eating). We all enjoyed the walk behind the waterfall.
Seljalandsfoss in the rain
Behind the Falls.
The hotdogs and muffins at the local Pylsurvagurinn are delicious. We all stock up on “real” food one last time before we’ll head out to Skogar to begin the Laugavegur which starts just a few miles down the road at Skógar.
At the beginning of the Laugarvegur …
… are plenty of steps that need to be climbed.
After a short period of packing and pack-adjusting Þor said good bye and we were on our way – up the endless steps to the top of Skógarfoss. From there on we followed the river upstream, past many sheep and even more waterfalls.
On our way along the Skógar river. Did I mentioned that it rained?
Lunch on the trail.
Near the famous washed-out bridge.
After a few, seemingly endless, hours we arrived at the footbridge across the river. Unfortunately the steps that led up to the bridge had been washed away, the railing didn’t look so good, and that early in the season nobody had even considered fixing the damage. Luckily we crossed the river a little bit upstream, where a large snowfield covered the entire gorge.
Five more minutes …
Finally at Baldvinskáli.
From there on we followed the jeep tracks to the hut Baldvinskáli. The rain eased up a little bit and we saw a faint outline of the sun, but by now everybody was tired and the hike turned into a slog. Finally, the hut appeared amongst the clouds. All we had to do was cross a little moat of quicksand and a mile of snow. Everybody made it up there.
Dinner at Baldvinskáli.
We put our packs down and investigated the hut. Compared to a few years ago it was in excellent shape. No mold on the walls, nice knotty pine panelled rooms and a clean attic with plenty of mattresses on the floor. Beats camping on a windy ridge any time. Downstairs was occupied by two German ladies, who had cranked up the stove and were not too happy about the late arrival of 17 additional hut guests. We cooked dinner outside and only Jon decided to spend the night in the German sauna. The rest slept in the attic.
Cooking dinner on the front porch.
Lauren and Eunice filling water bottles in a nearby snow field.
Baldvinskáli has no spring, but it was easy to get melt water from a nearby snowfield. Later that night the clouds cleared and we could enjoy the view across the glaciers and the clouds below. Not a bad ending for a busy day.
Dan and Eunice enjoying the (almost) never setting sun.