The Krossá unbridged.
Today was a day of rest. Many of the group slept in, others went on short hikes, nobody did much in particular. Christoph and a few students decided to explore a nearby waterfall that was described in one of Christoph’s German guidebooks. Alas, the Germans kept their secret: the bridge was washed away, and nobody felt like hiking a few miles upstream to the bridge at the Básar hut. Some of us went on a little photo hike to one of Iceland’s native birch forests, others decided to head up Valanúkur, a smallish mountain just off the hut wit an amazing 360-degree view and only an additional twenty minutes to the Volcano Bar at Húsadalur.
If you ever get lost in an Icelandic forest … stand up. Unfortunately this might not work around here.
Twenty minutes to free Wifi, real beer, an all-you-can-eat buffet, and a pretty mediocre hotspring.
The birch forest has some impressive trees in it and the old saying :“Should you ever get lost in an Icelandic forest…” might not be all that useful. Christoph recalls getting “sort of” lost here thirty years ago when he hiked the Laugavegur for the first time.
Cassandra sketching.
There may be no bugs in Iceland, but there sure are flies!
The hut at Þorsmörk. Our yellow tents are in the foreground. The flagpole is supposedly the third-highest in Iceland. No, somehow we didn’t quite have the guts to fly our Trinity flag on it.
Jon raved about the view from Valanúkur and the beer in the Volcano Bar in Húsadalur. The often advertised hotspring at Húsadalur: not much to write home about – a lukewarm concrete contraption.
The trail up Valanúkur.
Dinner was delicious and expertly prepared by Dan and Jon, who had it down to a science. The dessert would have been a chocolate cake, but Dan carried it for three days at the bottom of his pack, so we had to make do with chocolate crumbs.
Dinner at Þorsmörk.
Dan and Jon – master chefs.