#icelandicbackpacking

[mdrewjackson]

Day 20 of the Iceland ride: Álftavatn to Þórsmörk (30km). We actually get to ride today! Turns out that the second half of the 54km Laugavegur hiking trail gently descends (mostly), which enables us to finish it – though it takes us 12 hours! We coast down for good stretches, across windswept volcanic moonscapes, gaping in awe at the massive glacier-topped volcano we’re approaching. Eyjafjallajökull is one of Iceland’s more famous volcanoes: its 2010 eruption led to ash clouds that disrupted air travel across Europe for a week. It’s also fierce looking, giving off a vibe of heading towards Mordor. To further keep us honest, there’s some adversity mixed in: three river crossings (two with water moving fast enough to almost knock us over), a vertigo-inducing canyon where we inch along the rock wall gripping a chain, and more steep ups and downs to push (or cling to) our bikes through. But the enduring impression is how many folks along the route are kind to us: the guide who makes us coffee this morning, the hikers who tell us they winced every time they saw a steep pitch thinking this’d be tough to bike, the hiker who as we arrive in Þórsmörk (the end of the Laugavegur trail) hands us one of his beers. #kindnessofstrangers #icelandicbackpacking (at Laugavegur Trail) https://www.instagram.com/p/CS2oIDDsnHf/?utm_medium=tumblr

[mdrewjackson]

Day 18 of the Iceland ride: Landmannalaugar to Hrafntinnusker (12km). Our first mistake was thinking we could bike the Laugavegur hiking trail. I’d read an account on bikepacking.com that said there are some hike-a-bike sections, but that much of it is rideable. Not the first day, though, at least for riders of our level. It’s a 500 metre ascent up volcanic mountains. We spend most of the day walking the bikes, some stretches carrying them, and maybe one quarter of the route riding – gingerly, along steep ridges and rocky trails. Our second mistake was booking a mountain hut 25kms along the trail, thinking that distance was achievable – as we had bikes after all. But that didn’t factor in the multiple back and forths that come with taking our packs off the bikes to get them up the (at times terrifyingly) steep pitches! That all said, holy cow, what a hiking trail: we pass through lava fields, over mountains, across snowfields, past steaming geysers (signs warn the bubbling pools are 80 to 100 degrees Celsius!). We’re wildly over our heads in degree of difficulty, but when we’re not scared shitless getting our bikes up (and down) steep mountainsides, it’s amazing. And thankfully we’re able to rebook at a mountain hut halfway along our intended route, where we’re truly on a mountain top. #icelandicbackpacking (at Landmannalaugar) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSwPJElsHVB/?utm_medium=tumblr

[mdrewjackson]

Day 17 of the Iceland ride: Hólaskjól to Landmannalaugar (40km). The hardest 40km ride I’ve ever done: 600 metre elevation gain with 12% plus inclines, 30 km/hr headwinds, bumpy gravel roads, 15 (yes, 15!) river crossings. But what epic scenery. #icelandicbackpacking (at Land of Ice and Fire) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSrwbrcsO-Z/?utm_medium=tumblr