Day 1: Hiking the Laugavegur Trail and then some…

I’m sitting at a picnic table with my toothbrush sitting next to me, looking at one of the most stunning views Mother Nature could have devised.

Located at the very start of the 55-kilometer Laugavegur trail in Iceland, the huts we are staying at are quite basic. There is no electricity. Just solar power. Bathrooms and showers are in a separate building. Our rooms are mixed dorms for about 16 people. To say we are quite cozy is an understatement. But I’ve always said, if there is something I really really want to do, I will do what needs to be done to go there. I’ve not always been that person. But Iceland is one of those places that makes you into that person.

This is my third time visiting Iceland. The first time I was part of a large group of friends and fellow runners all here for the Reykjavik half marathon/marathon. We ran the race, spent a fabulous few days in the city and then rented a car and circled the country at breakneck speed. That trip left me hooked. The landscapes here are so stunning. So otherworldly. It truly is the land of fire and ice. And it changes so quickly. Just like the weather. 

The problem with that first trip, if there was one is we never really left the Ring Road which is essentially the one highway that circles the country. I was left wanting more. I wanted to get out of the car and just walk through the interior. Surely those amazing landscapes we could see from the car, were even more impressive inland. 

On my second visit I was here with the very specific purpose of seeing the Northern Lights. It was a long weekend over Thanksgiving a few years ago and it was dark 18 hours of the day. It was a stunning trip. We snowmobiled, went ice-caving, off-roading on a black sand beach and played in the snow. And yes, we saw the Northern Lights. But because of the time of year hiking was not really a thing.

Fast forward to today. A trip three years in the making. Scheduled for July 2020…my 6-day Laugavegur trek went the way of countless other vacations that year. To be here now is more kismet than anything that was planned per se. 

When an ageing, sick kitty cat at home led me to cancel a planned 3-week Spring trip to Portugal and Spain, the opportunity to finally reschedule this trek presented itself. And so here I am.

At the start of one of what National Geographic calls the top ten most beautiful treks in the world. And if today’s four-mile introduction to our trek is any indication, I have no doubt that to be true. 

It took a four hour drive from Reykjavik to get to our campsite/huts. For all its simplicity it is lovely and comfortable. We are all expected to volunteer to help out at mealtimes which are taken in a communal dining room/kitchen. Being Iceland dinner consisted of a lovely salad, rice and grilled salmon. Ah…and let’s not forget a few bottles of massively overpriced Rioja bought inside a school bus on the campsite (I swear it’s true!). 

Also being Iceland there are hot springs here where one can take a dip, which we did while dinner was being prepared by today’s set of volunteers. 

All in all a successful first day. Now it’s off to bed. It may only be 9pm. But tomorrow is going to be our longest and hardest day. Time to get some rest.