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It wasn't until Thursday morning that I realized my boots were very old and
had several cracks in them. In one place, I could put my finger basically
through a hole to my sock! I knew rain was forecast, so I began to worry
that I'd have to hike with wet feet. Unfortunately it was a little late
to do anything about it.
We packed everything up and left our rental house at 10:15am.
We drove a few blocks away and dropped our non-backpacking bags off at the hotel
we'd be staying at when we returned. Then we drove about 15 minutes
away to the rental car return place at the Reykjavik domestic airport.
Then we took a taxi to the city hall bus stop, where our bus to
Landmannalaugar would depart. Yes, it was a bit complicated, but it all worked
out.
We had a few minutes before our bus arrived, so I looked at the nearby
shops to see if I could scrounge anything up to help with my boots,
but found nothing. We returned to the bus stop, then hopped onto the
bus, which never got more than about half full. At 12:30pm, we were off.
The bus stopped in a few places, picking up a few more passengers along
the way. At one place we had enough time to shop at a little store. I
found a can of leather boot sealant, which I bought. I figured with
that, and some of my repair tape, maybe I'd be ok. As it would turn
out, the boots would be fine, though I threw them away at the end of
the trip.
After a couple hours, we left the pavement behind and went onto
dirt and gravel roads. It's a special bus made for this type of
terrain, including the ability to cross creeks. While the bus
felt safe, it was a very bumpy drive. I'm glad I didn't have
to drive on that road. Here's a video taken on the bus to Landmannalaugar.
The terrain is pretty barren. Just mile after mile of a barren
landscape. But then at 4:50pm, we reached Landmannalaugar.
It's a surprising sight after driving through all that barren
land: There were multiple buildings, trailers, cars, and tents
strewn all over. I counted about 80 tents.
The bus dropped us off at this surprisingly large community
seemingly in the middle of nowhere, as it started to drizzle.
We walked past the large bathroom (two rows of open sinks surrounded
by private stalls lining the 4 walls). We checked in, then
walked past the large eating tent to the hut building we were
staying in. The hut has 3 or 4 large sleeping rooms, each sleeping
maybe 20 or more people, and a communal kitchen downstairs.
Tents at Landmannalaugar
Boardwalk to hot springs
Hut at Landmannalaugar
Tents at Landmannalaugar
There was only 1 other person in our sleeping room so far, but
it would fill up completely later. There are rubber or foam
mattresses, but everyone has to bring their own bedding
(sleeping bag, pillow). We'd brought our sleeping pads just
in case the existing pads were sub-par in any of the huts,
but we never used them.
After claiming our spot in the sleeping room, we went downstairs
and had dinner. There are gas stoves, pots, pans, utensils,
and dining tables. We had brought our backpacking stove and
a small fuel canister just in case, but we never used them
(sense a trend?).
After dinner, I walked briefly around outside. Several people
were taking advantage of some hot springs nearby. A few sheep
roamed the area near the hut. We'd also seen them roaming the
hillsides on the drive in. Then I walked the first few hundred
meters of the Laugavegur trail, which starts right outside the
hut. I walked uphill briefly to a nice overlook of the camp
area. It was still light outside; at this time of year, the
sun wouldn't set until almost 11pm, and then rise at 4am (never
getting completely dark).
Landmannalaugar camp as seen from the Laugavegur Trail
Landmannalaugar camp as seen from the Laugavegur Trail
Landmannalaugar camp as seen from the Laugavegur Trail
Landmannalaugar camp as seen from the Laugavegur Trail
Landmannalaugar camp as seen from the Laugavegur Trail
Sheep near the hut
Sheep near the hut
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