Iceland 2009. Hiking challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support

Iceland 2009. Hiking challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support. 

Iceland is one of those places where I could keep visiting and never tire of. The weather hadn’t always treated me well but I was prepared to try crossing the rugged, frozen icecaps and interior once more. I’d had to move my trek destination with Macmillan from Nepal, a place that I had so wanted to visit, to Iceland as the DA doctor had felt it was more accessible by vehicle if I was to be unable to continue due to having had ME for several years. Yes, Iceland is in places easier to evacuate people but it wasn’t going to be just me this time. The weather had its own plan for us and there was no way of knowing what lay ahead.

The route was very familiar to me but groups have different dynamics and I always enjoy being part of the group as much as the scenery.

Well there was to be a lot of scenery on this trek. The weather closed in on the second day of trekking leaving us to endure freezing rain on the icecaps, soaked tents and different river crossing, not to mention the wind and finally impenetrable low cloud, very much like a blanket of fog. The weather made it the trek much more of a challenge than Discover Adventure could ever have foreseen. The Macmillan reprehensive even checked with me if conditions were as bad as in 2001 but by then a decision to evacuate was taken out of our hands by the Icelandic government when they called for the entire mountainous interior to be evacuated.

The funny thing was that our first day on Mount Hekla was rather wonderful. We enjoyed the Hekla area far more than on previous treks to Iceland, walking not only up the rocky trail to the new lava flow but right around the cone. I took lots of photographs in the bright summer sunshine and some superb views or the lava flows and the group itself will they enjoyed lunch and readied themselves for the climb. We walked in all for about 3 hours up to where the steam vents from fishers in the ground. The colours of the more recent eruptions were clearly visible. Mount Hekla had erupted as recently as the year 2000 which was only a year after my first Macmillan trek to this incredible region.

By the time we reached camp the heavens had of course opened. Wet but happy we learnt yet again how to erect a tent in adverse conditions. Very useful information in Iceland and nearly always needed.

Our evening meal didn’t look very promising. By the time we had made camp there was still none of the usual signals that all is well. No wonderful aroma of food bubbling away in a pot, no clanking pans or people dashing about with steaming urns. No there were just two lovely young lads moving boxes of fruit and vegetables around that were marked “Discover Adventure” in large letters across each box. Unfortunately the lads had not discovered how to cook them yet and we saw that as a problem that needed investigate thoroughly. Our curiosity and hunger took over and we made enquiries as to when a meal might be thought possible. Today, later, maybe much later? No, they had no idea. We thought we would try a new tactic. Did they need any help? It transpired that the previous cooks had upped and left the Iceland trekking team in the lurch only the day before and were by now most probably enjoying a sunny beach in the Mediterranean. They had a rather novel way of solving this problem that could only be done in Iceland. After all they had been solving problems for hundreds of years. At the last minute they had asked the secretary if she had a boyfriend and if she did, was he able to cook? The answer was yes, she had a boyfriend but no he didn’t know a cabbage from a cauliflower. So they hired him anyway and asked if he had a flatmate who could come along too. Neither of them were cooks but they were more than happy to give it a go. How difficult could it be to feed 60 people in the middle of nowhere, after all?

Now this being the case we decided very quickly that if we were to eat that night, we should lend a hand. So with the rain still falling and the sun trying hard to make a last appearance before disappearing for the duration of the trek, we started to prepare some vegetables and wash up. It’s always fun to help out and we soon got to these unlikely lads. They were hippie types, who you could imagine had already travelled far more than most of us. One of the lads was always making little pots of green tea and smiling even when the rain was lashing down. We never went without and their cooking skills improved greatly as the week went by.

Our first camp at Landmannahellir is in a rather lovely location. The tents enjoy a night on short, firm grass beside a lovely lake, the mountains surrounding it roll away into the distance, lichen covered and hazy. It’s a place of tales of trolls, Elves and mythology. The elves lived in these hills in caves, helping where needed. They were usually smaller than humans and did no harm, unlike the mighty trolls. The trolls were thought to be fearsome and cruel creatures of huge proportions. They too lived on the cliffs of these mountains and stories told of how if you treated them well they would do you no harm. I think the Icelandic people really do believe these peoples exist out here in the wild, which is a good thing really as there isn’t anyone else to keep you company if you get lost.

We trekked over the grassy meadows the following morning and up into the lakes and lava-fields of Domadalshraum. Here the stunning multi-coloured mountains of Landmannalaugar come into view. It’s a day of contrasts, grassy tops, rocky gorges and endless views. Everyone was in high spirits, the group had a very high proportion of young people in it which was exciting in itself. Many of them starting out in lives after leaving university, studying as doctors or desperate to prove themselves as real trekkers. Their enthusiasm was amazing. One young lad had even decided to carry his entire pack the full distance over the mountains well trekking instead of a day pack. He took on his struggle with passion, while others endured their first blisters and falls on slippery rocks. Even when offered an easier route most of us chose a harder one. We were a team, helping each other along with our “well done’s “and “nearly there’s”.

I’m quite used to having to wee in the wild now, but was quite unprepared for how this was received by the men on this trek. It really was quite funny. I went into a small gorge as we stopped for a break, just before undertaking yet another steep climb and I was followed by three of the men. As they went by they said to each other. “It’s ok it’s Pam, she’s the only one who does scream when we I need one. You don’t mind do you Pam”. Well it was a good job that I didn’t too much as they all tramped by me and after that it was “let’s go Pam’s way and we won’t get screamed at”, by all the boys. Mind you I did see what they meant the following day, but I heard the cries far sooner, they must have followed the wrong girls in the rain clouds.

It’s amazing to think that this evolving island that sits on two tectonic plates: the North American tectonic plate and the Eurasian plate, is still growing and very much active. There is an area along the route where lava flowed down from the mountain in 1480, creating narrow, rocky gorges and passage ways they form a challenging route. We finally dropped down into the huge valley of Landmannalaugar, where the silken threads of the river fill this deep and very long valley. The icy waters of the glacial river mix with the hot springs that flow out of the lava flows and it’s here that we spent the night relaxing and contemplating the trials of the next day.

The trek up and over the icecap is always a difficult one but on this occasion we were meet by lots of winter snow that formed unpredictable snow bridges, freezing wind and driving rain. We would walk for some time and then huddle together like penguins as we waited for the rear to catch up. There had been one mishap with a snow bridge but all was well.  The morning was spent climbing up the Brennisteinsalda lava flow, it’s here that we smelt the sulphurous gases well before we saw the steaming vents ahead of us. Between the rocks and snow are some rather wonderful mineral deposits, black Obsidian glints like crush glass on the surface. Obsidian is actually a type of glass and is literally lava that has cooled from its molten form so quickly that there had been no time form crystals to form in it.

Lunch time we spent at the mountain hut of Sodull, high up on this 800m plateau. It’s a cold, bleak place up here and you don’t want to wander far from the hut. In fact on this part of the route we were given strict instructions to stay in groups as you could quickly lose your bearings without any visual clues to your location. The wind and cold was quite terrible during the afternoon and some of the girls were very frighten.

It was a long day, around 10 hours of walking. Finally we were on the home stretch to our camp at Alfavatn Lake, very cold, tired and starting to get very wet. We were soon told that we could put our tents up down near the lake. It was a very low laying area in wet, bog on the edge of the lake. We were very surprised why the guardian of this area had ask us to erect our tents where they were almost floating when up above where the mess tent now stood was on firm ground. I soon had our tent up in a spot that was relatively firm and helped a few others with putting their tents up too. I had managed to erect it before the real rain started to fall. Many of the trekkers where very tired and finding this all quite a challenge. My tent partner made it back to camp and was relieved to be able to crawl in to a dry tent. Many of the others now had wet tents and were not in a good position to warm up.

I found my passport, wrapped in layers of zip lock bags, it was very wet and the pages had stuck together. Unfortunately I needed this for a trip to the USA a few days after this trek so I took it up to the mess time, where I found they had kindly lit a fire in the corner. I warmed my hands and my passport too, trying to keep the soggy pages from sticking together permanently. A few other trekkers joined me and I tried to reassure those who were still frightened by our plight that DA would soon figure out how to deal with the situation that we now found ourselves in. We were quite safe now, at least and could remain here if need be.

It wasn’t long before they had sorted out what they should do. The Icelandic government had called for an evacuation of the interior and a vehicle was coming the following morning to remove half of the group. Unfortunately the other half would have to walk out of the area and the vertical would pick them up later in the day. We were asked if some of us would volunteer to walk. The ladies were all offered a place on the coach as the going would be tough the next day. I was very happy to walk as it meant another day of trekking in this beautiful country.

We left after breakfast and soon came to a raging river, a brown rolling tide of sheer force. Two of the DA guides took a rope down river and stretched it across the width of it, waiting for a tumbling trekker if needed. A cold thought but a very necessary exercise, not without risk to themselves either. A vehicle with huge wheels arrived and took 6 of us across at a time clinging to its sides. We all made it safely across and we all admitted that it was rather exciting too. It’s on this day that the trek normally crosses an area of dusty, volcanic plain before joining a wider track to reach where we would have camped for the night. This barren, rocky area is classified as a desert and you won’t find a lot of evidence of plant or animal life here, but it has a wonderful, wild beauty of its own. Strewn with rocks and backed by a rising hill that forms the opposite side of the gorge, it’s normally a beautiful location for a night of truly wild camping, but not tonight.

The rain was coming on again and we were pleased when the bus finally picked us up on a second run. We watched the landscape going by knowing that we wouldn’t be returning the complete the rest of the trek. Some of the youngsters were practically sad about this, supposing that their sponsors and families would see that they had failed in their task. I tried to reassure them that this certainly wasn’t true. On the contrary they could go back with their heads held high and tell the tale of how they conquered the raging rivers, storm force freezing winds and driving rain. Not to mention how frightened some of them had been for the own safety having no experience of this type of weather event in the wild before.

We travelled in the bus for some time and finally reached a large wooden mountain hut, barely visible in the fog, rain and dwindling light. Its warm glow welcomed us. The girls had kindly kept me a place in the ladies sleeping area upstairs and the lads offered me the shower first as the other ladies were all now warm and clean having arrived on the first bus earlier in the day and had started to prepare the evening meal in the kitchen. I had just undressed and started showering in the steamy bathroom when the fire alarm rang furiously, in frantic bursts of metallic clanging. Grabbing my tiny trekking towel I covered what I could of my body and called up the stairs to ask if there really was cause for concern. Everyone had a laugh, I finished my shower and then feeling rather worst for weather I slept in my sleeping bag until teatime.

Tired and relieved we enjoyed our warm surroundings, outside the rain continued and the low clouds shrouded the hut in a foggy vaporous mush, grey and lonely. We enjoyed our meal, played cards and discussed our predicament.  With a continuing ban on movements within Iceland’s wild interior we didn’t really have much choice but stay where we were. I think DA knew that we would all go stir crazy and jump ship into the foggy tide that surrounded us if they didn’t organise something to occupy us all. After all we had all spent months training to climb mountains and endure day long walks. We spent the next day enjoying a self-funded coach trip around the gloomy national park and a swim in the Blue Lagoon and the following day we all rushed up the nearest mountain in the head on wind and rain for a group photoshoot. A few of the girls had really had all the adventure that they ever wanted to experience for the rest of their lives and so a couple held hands with the DA guides and I did the same with another intrepid trekker. I told her that my flask contained a magic calming and strength giving drink where in fact all it actually held was a sports electrolyte drink that’s only claim was that it “provide fast hydration and sustained energy during sport”. Never mind, she bought it and was very happy with her new tonic. Unfortunately I was feeling unwell when we returned to the hut and found my sleeping bag as I was feeling shivery. IT passed but I think it was the beginnings of an infection that stayed with me the following week.

It had been an epic trek, short and not so sweet, but with such a wonderful group around me, I loved my day exploring Reykjavik, our special celebration evening and going along with the youngster to the local disc bar. Another trek over, but it’s always lovely to return to my family. I had another adventure awaiting me on my return and I had to check that my soaking wet passport would be accepted by the US passport control. So at Heathrow I asked if my passport was still usable and if they could give it a good going over. Fortunately all was well, it was rather battered but would pass.