We got a late start today. The hut was just a tad crowded and we intended to let the British Army go first. However, they were not the most organized breakfast crowd, so we had plenty of time watching them pack, spill their breakfast over their sleeping bags and finally head out. A few minutes later we followed suit. Jon led us over the pass into the clouds.

It was Lia’s 21st birthday, so we serenaded her on top of the ridge amidst the clouds. I think by that time we had eaten all of the cake, but later that day Cameron gave her “the best birthday present EVER”: a shower in the campground.

Soon we passed through the Stórhiver geothermal area and a few snowy ridges later the clouds lifted and we could almost see the hills of Landmannalaugar.

As usual, the last miles took a bit longer than expected, but soon we saw the hut and famous hot springs, passed the hut and set up camp at a big gravel plain. Not the best campsite but FINALLY THERE!

The Mountain Mall, two school buses retrofitted into a store with adjacent cafe, did a brisk business with beer and Pringles. Later that afternoon we soaked in the hot springs which made us (almost) forget all the rainy miseries of the previous days.

back to day 8
onward to day 10

Just because we had an hour of somewhat nice weather last night did not mean that the weather got better. This morning it was all gray again. We had a rainy breakfast, stopped for a quick group shot at the hut and then we were on our way. Today’s hike was not particularly long or difficult, but it would bring us up onto the Jökultungur plateau and we would spend a lot of time in snow and fog.

Soon we reached the steep slope of Jökultungur and we slowly inched up the mountain. Several hikers on the way down warned us that it would soon turn very muddy – they were right.

As soon as we reached the geothermal field the trail become very clayey. Heavy wet boots got even heavier, the clouds dropped lower, and we hiked through a wonderland of fog, steam, mud and snow.

Soon, however we left the mud behind and reached the home stretch: the long snow-covered plain that leads up to the hut at Hraftinnusker. The GPS claimed it was less than three miles, but it could have been forever. The clouds hung low, and visibility was rather poor. We followed old tracks and went from trail marker to trail marker.

Luckily the snow was still deep enough that many of the annoying gullies could be crossed easily. After an hour or so we finally saw the hut sitting on an obsidian hill.

We had reservations, but the wardens had bad news for us. The hut was severely overbooked. He expected 70 visitors for about 50 beds. However, we did pretty well: all the students had one big room, and the professors slept out in the hallway.

We shared the remainder of the attic with a bunch of Brits, and considering how many folks were squeezed into one small space, we spent a rather restful night.

back to day 7
onward to day 9

Since we wake up to a steady drizzle there is no real rush to get out of the hut this morning. We enjoy the dryness, have breakfast and just as we want to head out all the spigots in the hut run dry. Even in pouring rain dehydration is a serious – potentially deadly – issue on the trail, so Justin gets sent off to call the (at this time still very sleepy)  warden, who fixes the water supply, we fill our bottles, and a few minutes later we are on our way.

The path crosses some extensive sand deserts.Many of them are covered with snow, and the low-hanging clouds hide many of the nearby mountains. Around lunchtime we reach Bláfjallakvísl, a glacial river that has no bridge across it.

Usually the crossing is no big deal, but this year the meltwater is pretty high, and we had to jump over quite a few streams already.

Now Jon is the first to check out the deepest channel. Crossing a bit upstream from the regular ford is not too bad, and we all make it across safely. But it was sure cold. So cold indeed that Christoph hands out some extra chocolate rations.

Soon we reach the hut at Hvanngil where we take a short break behind the bathrooms. Then its another few miles to today’s camp site, the hut at Álftavatn.

The trail is easy now, but we still have to get through two small streams. They are mostly annoying, neither particularly deep or cold, but we still have to take our boots off. The last little trickle is within sight of the hut. Some don’t bother and cover the last hundred yards in their wading shoes.

Swimming in the lake proves to be tricky. The lake is so shallow that Christoph and Lauren have to wade forever to even get their knees wet. After some hundred yards or so they both give up and take a shower at the hut.

Towards dinner time the weather turned almost nice. We had maybe an hour to enjoy the setting evening sun.

back to day 6
onwards to day 8

Today’s hike is mostly along the Markarfljót to the hut at Emstrur (or Botnar). The trail begins with a walk through beautiful birch forests. Many of us know this part from their frequent excursions to the Volcano Bar over the past two days.

Soon, however, do we encounter our first stream crossing. The Þröngjá is a small braided stream that originates from nearby Merkurjökull. That makes the water milky and cold.

Nevertheless, after a lot of hemming and hawing we easily cross the main channel and soon thereafter we’re back on the trail, gaining elevation slowly but steadily.

Luckily we get to see most of Christoph’s favorite mountain along the trail: Einhyrningur, a mountain that distinctively resembles a rhinoceros.

After a  few hours we reach the confluence between the Markarfljót and the Fremri-Emstruá. By now both rivers run in deep gorges and a few of us hike to the cliffs overlooking the confluence.

By now we are about half a mile from the hut – as the crow flies, and maybe two miles – as the rest of us walks. Since the hut is on the opposite side of the canyon we have to descend a couple of hundred feet, cross the river on a bridge, and head back up the other side. The original trail is still buried under snow, so we climb the “Botnar Step” on a new path that zig-zags across a scree slope.

After about six hours of hiking we make it to the hut. Usually the path past the Botnar step is easy, this time, however, due to the high snow we have some difficulties and our boots get wet one more time. At Emstrur we have reservations for a hut and soon we’re all in a comfy warm room, watch Jon and his eager helpers prepare dinner, read a bit, write into our field notebooks, play cards or just sit there and enjoy the warmth. After a day out in the cold and rain it doesn’t get much better than this.

back to day 5
onward to day 7

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.

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.

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.

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.

back to day 4
onward to day 5

Late that night the clouds gave way to sunshine and a spectacular view across glaciers and mountains. Most of us slept upstairs in the attic; only Jon preferred a steamy night with the two Germans.

The upstairs was not much better: every time I came in from the outside my glasses and camera lenses fogged up. The students, in their quest for darkness had covered up one of the small windows. The second one was by Christoph’s sleeping bag and stayed wide open. All in all we had a decent night – it reminded me of an old Bavarian saying: “Erfroren sind schon viele, erstunken ist noch keiner.” (I am sure you guys can google it).

The following morning was great. We enjoyed the fresh mountain air (what a contrast to last night !) and had our usual breakfast of oatmeal, hot chocolate and tea on the porch. Soon thereafter we took off to cross the pass at Fimmvörðuháls.

Unfortunately the weather deteriorated rather quickly and we hiked most of the time inside or just below one big gray cloud.

Soon we reached the two volcanic craters Magni and Móði (named after the two sons of Thor). The ground was still warm from the 2010 eruption. We climbed up the few meters to the top of Magni and enjoyed a geothermally heated rest.

Soon we left the snow behind and descended into the Þorsmörk valley. We made it safely past a few iffy spots (one now named “Linnea’s Delight” or “Glæði hennar Linnear” as the caretaker of the Þorsmörk hut translated it for us onto a napkin. The slopes were still steep, the trail sometmes went over a few exciting knife edges, but soon we all made it down to the river in the valley.

We crossed the main channel of the Krossá on a rather bouncy bridge, but the remaining channels had to be crossed via stepping stones, which caused some excitement. In the end everybody made it and the number of soaked boots was held to a minimum. We got a good campsite behind the hut, the hot shower was amazing, and dinner, supplemented through a couple of visits to the hut store and the nearby volcano bar, was enjoyed after a long day of hiking.

back to day 3
onward to day 5

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

back to day 2
onward to day 4

 

 

 

 

After a delicious breakfast of oatmeal we head out to do the classic Golden Circle tourist tour. While most buses start at Geysir and end at Þingvellir we’ll be doing it backwards: starting at Þingvellir and camping at Geysir, so we have all evening to observe the springs.

We listen to Jon making up half of Iceland’s history and explaining rocks (basalt) and tectonic processes to our class. Considering that it was pouring buckets at that time, he had an amazingly attentive audience. Afterwards we hike down into the Almannagja, inspect the drowning pool and walk across the valley to the waiting bus. Next stop: Gullfoss.

On good days we spend about two hours at the falls. Today we were more efficient. After maybe an hour we’re on our way to Geysir, our camp site for the night.

At Geysir we set up tents and waited for “a very old man”, who turned out to be in his sixties rather than nineties, to collect the fees for the campsites. Afterwards we explored the springs, watched Strokkur go of repeatedly and measured the temperatures of several hot springs.

Afterwards everybody seemed to congregate in the restaurant, enjoying the comfy leather couches and drinking beer and coffee.

Luckily, the campsite had a picnic table that was somewhat sheltered from the rain, so we enjoy a delicious dinner and had “snikkerkaka” for dessert (see below).

back to day 1
onward to day 3

 

This year’s ENVS field trip revisited an old favorite: we spent 12 awesome days in Iceland. The weather was miserable but the trip was as amazing as ever.

We arrived in Reykjavik at the crack of (non-existing) dawn, got our bus transfer to the city campground and set up tents in a light drizzle. Then we headed into town for some early sight seeing.

The night was short, and it showed early in the afternoon. Jenna must have slept for hours, but Lia wasn’t doing much better. She blamed it on some really big guy in the seat next to hers.

We barely got them awake enough to try out the local pool (ask the girls about their highly traumatic shower experience!) and have local fare at Reykjavik’s best hotdog stand, which happens to be right in front of the pool. The students may have had their doubts, but after two bites they agreed: Their professors were right (as usual), and Icelandic hotdogs are awesome! “Eina með öllu” is all the Icelandic you really need to know.

I think we had them all in bed by nine (OK, all but Giuliani and Dan – maybe).

Two side notes:
No matter where Bill Clinton ate his dog (Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur), the best hotdog stand is NOT at the harbor – far from it.

The title, you ask? Well, my favorite “Twenty Shades of Grey” was already taken, and gray had to be in the title. It’s the favorite color of rainclouds, storm clouds, the inside of clouds, overcast sky, fog, more  clouds,  andesitic lava flows, and backpackers from at least three continents.

onward to day 2

The Iceland field-trip crew has been busy preparing for our upcoming trip. Two weeks ago we had a camp stove cook-off. Students came up with recipes, bought the ingredients and cooked everything on the camp stoves.

Lighting the stoves proved trickier than expected. Now imagine typical Icelandic weather: driving rain and 30-miles-an-hour winds. We better practice some more …

In the end a bunch of very critical tasters agreed that team Lupine’s Cashew Beef Curry won first prize. Cameron’s recipe of salt with tasty salty bits and a bit of salt won first prize for nutritious content: it came out to have about 6000 mg of salt per serving. Better hold off on those bullion cubes, Cam!

The following week we set up tents. The weather was again very Icelandic: in the low forties and some sprinkles of rain.

Groups practiced setting up tents and checked whether all our tents were complete. Luckily, most of them were.

Given the fact that many students had been with us to Utah last year Jon had surprisingly little to do and all the tents went up in no time.