Laugavegur, Hiking Trail in Iceland - Day 1

 

Laugavegur - Itinerary of Day 1

• Start & End / Direction: From Landmannalaugar to Hrafntinnusker / North to South
• Distance: About 12 km
• TIme: 
  • Official: About 4 - 5 hr
  • Actual: About 5 hr (11:40 - 16:30 on Aug. 29, 2023)
• Ascent: About 460 - 470 m (Altitude 596 - 1066 m)
• Route: Landmannalaugar - Brennisteinsalda - Hrafntinnusker
• Weather: Sunny to cloudy

Time Table

• 07:00-07:10 Stored my luggage at Luggage Locker, Reykjavik.
• 07:10-07:20 Walked to bus stop #1.
• 07:30 Bus departed.
• 11:30 Arrived at Landmannalaugar.
• 11:40 Started hiking at Landmannalaugar.
• (Lunch / snack: Walking and eating)
• 13:30 At the top of Brennisteinsalda.
• 16:30 Arrived at Hrafntinnusker

Tracks of Day 1 Laugavegur

Track of Laugavegur in day1, ascending overall / Img: Self-recorded track on the screen of the Taiwanese App "Journal in the Woods"

Laugavegur - Day 1

Departed from Reykjavik

On the day departing for Laugavegur I was quite busy.

In the morning, I had to store my luggage, and walk for 10 minutes to the bus stop. The bus goes from Reykjavik to Landmannalaugar, the Northern start point of Laugavegur trail.

Map showing the route from Luggage Locker to bus stop #1 City Hall / Img: Google Map

To avoid getting lost or standing on the wrong side for buses, I already hanged around in the town and checked the locations, even preserving a locker space for my luggage.

After I split up with my families on this day, everything went quite well at first.

I arrived at Luggage Lockers on 7:01 am. They opened up just in time, 7:00 am as written. The gate could be pushed open easily.

BUT, when I was depositing my stuff, an extremely STUPID thing happened to me! I was sleepy, and then sober at once. My ability to crisis management was so challenged!

In the end, thanks to the amazing customer service of Luggage Lockers, the situation was solved. I met up with the bus in time.

The TREX bus departing for Landmannalaugar / Photo: Yun (me)

To go the start point of the hiking trail in Highlands, I chose to take TREX, one of the bus service of Laugavegur. The bus goes from Reykjavik to Landmannalaugar。

The Bus Stop No.1 - City Hall for us to board is on the lake side, although need not to worry about standing on the wrong side, because there's only the TREX bus in the morning.

BTW, I think the bus stops in Reykjavik are special. In order to create a friendly city for pedestrians, buses are limited to stop at few stops in town.

The bus stops are numbered as well, which saves us from remembering the bus stop names.

When passengers get on the TREX bus, staff looking like hikers (in no uniforms) will come and check identities, and ask people to store bags and trekking poles to the storage space at the bottom of the bus.

(The staff were so like hikers that I ignored them until they came to me.)

Time table of TREX / Img: official website of TREX (Oct., 2023)

The bus departs at 7:30. Before that, the staff checked the passenger list again.

I was asked whether I was one of attendees of the "Arctic Circle". 

Hmm? I thought, "Arctic Circle? Isn't that in Greenland? I just left there."

All I could reply was murmuring Laugavegur.

Right then I came to realize that, most of the passengers were the attendees of the tour of "Arctic Circle". 

They all had the guidebooks in their hands. And on the 1st day, they would go to Brennisteinsalda, the mountain, and go back to Landmannalaugar. They would not go down south until the 2nd day.

From Reykjavik to Landmannalaugar

The bus company changes vehicles at Hella. To go from N to S, there will be a bus to Landmannalaugar; to go from S to N, there will be another bus to Thorsmork.

Toilets are available at Hella, but there aren't many for women. Mind the time for waiting in line.

At the beginning the bus ran on roads, flat and smooth. 

Until it started to drive towards inlands, the driver reminded everyone to fasten seatbelts, because it's going to be very bumpy. 

So true! I was shaken all the way just like sitting on a massage chair!

Pick-up point at Rjupnavellir, where I saw a cool motorcycle group / Photo: Yun (me)

Also the bus stops at Rjupnavellir, too. And people did get on the bus there.

Outside the window I saw a cool motorcycle group, so I took a picture. It was not until I came home that I found the captain gave me a thumbs-up 👍

Start Hiking from Landmannalaugar, Aiming for Hrafntinnusker

After the 5-hr drive, finally we arrived at Landmannalaugar, the northern start point of Laugavegur. 

I was SO EXCITED! I took some little time adjusting my bag and preparing the recording of the trail -- and hit the road! 

I'd been looking forward to the hiking for more than a year!

Landmannalaugar / Photo: Yun (me)

The weather of the first day was sunny and beautiful.

In Taiwan (for hikers), we always say because we've got the good personality of ourself, that in returns we have better chance to enjoy hiking in beautiful weather. 

So if the forecast shows bad weather, we should do some good deeds quickly (of course, joking).

Come back to Iceland -- However, the weather here changes all the time, even more severely inlands. People should never let down their guard.

The view was so great that I paused all the time to take pictures. / Photo: Yun (me)

The Laugavegur trail in day 1 are popular. There are Tourists everywhere, reminding me of Yangmingshan, mountains near Taipei.

Both Laugavegur and parts of Yangmingshan are volcanic. Although there are almost 6000 miles between Taiwan and Iceland, the two island countries share similar destiny, that we are both at the junctions of plates and have volcanos. 

In “Between Tectonic Plates: Geoparks in Taiwan”, it is mentioned that with Taiwan situated one the edge of Eurasian Plate, Iceland is on the opposite side across the plate.

Nonetheless, the landscapes are quite different between the two islands. The views of Laugavegur trail were something I’d never seen before, fresh and magnificent. Even the types of the trails are different, providing a new experience of hiking on them.

After hiking on this vast land for a while, you’d encounter a fork. Take the left-hand fork and keep on, as the line of the hikers in the photo above. 
If you take the right-hand one, you’ll stay on the field, but I’m not sure where to.

Then you’ll enter the trail where the views are narrowed.

Smoky sulfur pits / Photo: Yun (me)

After passing some popular (for photographing) and open sulfur pits, you’ll be on the way to Brennisteinsalda.

Brennisteinsalda is 855m high. The way up there is quite barren. And on the hilltop, the views are in 360 degrees and incomparable!

Up there, you can see the colorful volcanic mountains. They are yellow, red, blue, moss green, and decorated with white snows.

Colorful volcanic mountains seen on top of Brennisteinsalda／Photo: Yun (Me)

The hill up to the top of Brennisteinsalda is a bit steep, but safe. I got sweat all over my face once when I was at the peak.

The view here is also one of the features on day 1. Here tourists also tend to stop moving forward. 

On the day I hiked, it was getting cloudy after Brennisteinsalda.

The colorful rainbow volcanic mountains in blue and green / Photo: Yun (Me)

After Brennisteinsalda, there are some small up-and-down ravines. Sometimes the trail may be a little steep, and there's no plants to grasp. If it rains, be careful!

The land is so vast by comparing the scale of some hikers at the front. / Photo: Yun (Me)

There are too many incredible photos! If you'd like to check more, go visit my flickr!

Sulfur pits and creeks lay in the ravines. White smokes of the sulfur pits are spouted aside the trail, where people are responsible for their own safety.

Sulfur pit near Laugavegur trail / Photo: Yun (Me)

As you go forward (towards south), the color of the soils get darker.

The spot where the hikers ahead stand shows the route goes down and up like that. / Photo: Yun (Me)

The steaming smokes reminded me of hot springs. There are many natural springs in Iceland. At the Laugavegur trail, you can find one near Landmannalaugar, but you have to find some ways to change clothes outdoors.

A beautiful smoking pit near the Laugaveur trail / Photo: Yun (Me)

There are patches of soft moss, too. They are nice to touch...

The vegetation at the Laugaveur trail. The views change so much along the trail, which is amazing! / Photo: Yun (Me)

Besides, as long as you're on the right track, you can the signs and meters along the way.

Laugavegur sign / Photo: Yun (Me)

There's a monument 3km away from the first-day hut.

This is for a hiker who passed away here. Even he was so close to the hut, he didn't make it because of a storm.

The monument reminds people to be cautious of the changing weather in Iceland and the risks of hiking.

The monument on the Laugavegur trail / Photo: Yun (Me)

Before arriving at Hrafntinnusker, the first-day destination, you'll have to cross some icy ground, which is marked in the route map below in neon green as "icy start - icy ends" (I recorded the route along the way in haste, so please ignore the inconsistent English grammar XD).

I could see the route pole ahead of "icy ends" when I sanded at "icy start", so the distance of this section is not long. However, if it gets misty and foggy, I'm afraid it'll be hard to find the route pole. In the official website of Laugavegur, it is also written that "this part is often covered in snow." So always be careful, and use the offline map.

The icy ground near Hrafntinnusker / Img: Self-recorded track shown on Google Earth

I had little experience walking on the ice. The first time putting on crampons was just some 10 days before the Laugavegur trail (at Kangerlussuaq Ice Cap, Greenland). So I was nervous seeing the ice.

Fortunately, the icy ground was stepped firm and solid, not slippery at all, so no crampons was needed. Besides, it was not rainy or foggy, and the trail was quite clear. In the end, I passed this section safely.

The trail was clear on the ice ground. / Photo: Yun (Me)

Mind that when you arrive at "icy ends" and are going to continue to soiled trail, follow the direction of the route poles.

I remember that I was thinking of making some small turn to find a more gentle slope to hike downhills, and I then found out that under the gentle slope was an hollow hole. I wasn't sure if the ground would break apart if I have had stepped on it.

Not too long after the icy ground, you will arrive at Hrafntinnusker.

Hrafntinnusker, where the camp site and the huts are at the right-hand side / Photo: Yun (Me)

The name of the hut at Hrafntinnusker is actually called Höskuldsskáli.

Huts and tents scattered around Hrafntinnusker / Photo: Yun (Me)

Huts of Hrafntinnusker

Hut of Hrafntinnusker / Photo: Yun (Me)

When you arrive at the camp site, check in to wardens first. If you've booked the hut, you'll be given the number of the room, and you can choose the bed yourself. If you'd like to camp, pay the fee.

When I checked in, the weather started to get worse! So I felt lucky that I booked the hut.

It was really warm inside the hut. Jackets and shoes can / have to be put at the entrance. The heater here was strong, too. People used it for drying clothes.

The entrance of the hut of Hrafntinnusker / Photo: Yun (Me)

The huts for hikers in Taiwan are usually very "simple". I admire huts in Japan, where hikers can eat luxurious meals like curry in mountains. The huts look cute and so comfortable.

So I had this dream come true finally (in Iceland!), of staying in a warm and cozy hut, and there was HOT WATER!

One of the rooms of huts at Hrafntinnusker / Photo: Yun (Me)

The beds of Hrafntinnusker are bunk beds. The upper bunks are single mattress, the lower ones are double. One bunk for one person.

The mattress was soft. I didn't even have to bring sleeping pads! All I needed was my sleeping bag.

A long table is assigned to every rooms, where hikers eat and chat. It wasn't noisy at night (with earplugs). It was truly lucky of me that I met hikers who respected others.

One of the rooms upstairs in the huts at Hrafntinnusker / Photo: Yun (Me)

In the kitchen you can find hot water. You don't even have to boil yourself (but supplement it in the big pot if it runs out).

Kitchenware are provided too, very convenient. I saw some people made spaghetti.

Kitchen in the huts of Hrafntinnusker / Photo: Yun (Me)

My first-day dinner at Laugavegur was soy sauce braised beef rice (dried rice). It was so delicious. 🥺 But the portion was not much, so I got hungrier as days moved on.

MountFood dried beef rice / Photo: Yun (Me)