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Iceland ➙ Laugevagur Trail YOYO – day 0

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Sept. 12, 2023

Hiking Interior Iceland.

Fantastic. But challenging. You need to be organized.

Do your research well in advance.

Click PLAY or watch my hike on YouTube. (4min)

After this page, check out TMB Complete Guide to the Laugavegur Trail.

I was probably making a mistake going so late in the season. Laugevagur could shut down any time after Sept. 11th due to weather.

All agree that Laugavegur is the best hike in Iceland. It’s fairly close to Reykjavik. There are a number of transportation options to get to the trailheads.

Cost

For me as a tourist, Iceland has been by far the most expensive nation. And I’ve been to over 90 nations.

Bring. Money. $$$$$

You probably don’t need any Icelandic currency as they accept credit card almost everywhere. The notable exception is local buses that only take cash or payment by their own app.

Food & Fuel

Knowing that food is expensive and limited in variety, I brought quite a bit of camping grub with me on the plane.

I bought the rest in Reykjavik. And bought a small canister of very expenisve fuel.

Of course there are hundreds of partial containers at the trailheads, but I didn’t want to risk not having fuel.

Fuel canisters left behind at Langidalur, Sept. 2023

Transportation

Deciding on this adventure last minute, I was excited to do it late in the season when there would be fewer hikers. Of course, bad weather is a greater risk.

What I didn’t realize until arrival is that bus service to the trailheads started shutting down Sept. 11, 2023.

Last bus to Landmannalaugar was Sept. 11, 2023.

Buses to Þórsmörk (Thórsmörk) ended Sept. 15, 2023.

There are 3 main bus companies:

I decided to take the Reykjavik Excursions bus to Þórsmörk on Sept 13.

I’d YOYO the Laugavegur — hiking it both ways back to my starting point. Then continue over the Fimmvörðuháls pass to Skógar on the coastal highway. From there it would be easy to find transportation back to Reykjavík.

I’d done Landmannalaugar to Skógar, August 2018, so knew what I was facing.

Navigation

I did carry a paper map as back-up, but mostly used the free Maps.me app offline whenever I wanted to check that I was on track. It’s excellent for Laugevagur and most major hikes worldwide.

The one time I really needed Maps.me was coming in to camp in the dark with headlamp. It’s very easy to get confused when you can’t see the next post in the distance.

Electronics

There’s no access to power on the trail. In order to keep your devices working, bring enough power bank batteries. I brought two 20000mah batteries on my hike.

Be sure to carefully store your electronics in waterproof ways. It’s difficult to keep the rain out.

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Hikers SHOULD Carry a Paper Map

  1. Hard copy won’t kill your battery.
  2. Redundancy.
  3. GPS is rotting our brains. 😀
  4. Maps are fun!
  5. Guidebook pages are more convenient to check on the fly.
  6. Keeps me from checking my phone every five seconds.
  7. Context.

That’s from a good article by KELLY FLORO:

Why I Always Carry the FarOut App AND a Guidebook or Map

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Cycling Vancouver Island

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

My favourite month in Canada is September.

Weather is still good. Yet the tourists have mostly headed home.

I’d always wondered if it was possible to cycle logging roads — then bushwhack to the trailhead of Della Falls on Great Central Lake.

As expected, it’s nearly impossible. I never made it. 😀

But I’d wanted to do a gear check on my old Ghost touring bike in any case. Della Falls was an excuse to get out into the wilderness.

The only official campsite in the area is Lowry Lake. Very nice. But I passed by too early in the day. So ended up wild camping 2 nights.

Logging is horrible on Vancouver Island. Very few people see the vast swaths of clearcut hidden away from pavement.

BUT they certainly make the island wilderness accessible for anyone on a good bike.

I ended up camping 2 nights. The first on a sand bar in the Ash river. There are more bears than people in this part of the island. I thought I’d keep myself well clear of any animal trails.

The second night I pitched on a quiet lake where I’d stayed twice in the past.

My meandering route ended up looking something like this.

Vancouver Island is fantastic.

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Stein Valley Divide hike, B.C.

Stein Valley is one of the best hikes in North America.

It’s high on my personal list of hikes to do … SOON. 

Wild and remote, the “route” is about 90km and has a total elevation change of at least 4300m. High elevation is about 2150m.

It’s tough. You probably want to schedule 7 days. Perhaps 9 days to enjoy some side tripping. Carry ALL your food.

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.

Without question you should purchase the only guidebook. And perhaps maps, as well.

2nd edition 2013

purchase at MEC

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Croatian Long Distance Trail

The Croatian Long Distance Trail (CLDT) was pretty much invented by Nikola (Tesla) Horvat.

Nikola

Croatia shares a maritime border with Italy. The capital city is Zagreb.

As I post the trail is not recommended due to COVID-19 restrictions. Hopefully it will be possible again starting 2021.

  • approximately 2200 km (1400 mi)
  • mountain trails, wild trails, hard rock, forest roads, fields, gravel roads and sometimes asphalt roads
  • mountain huts, hotel, hostel, private accommodation, official campsite
  • many settlements so resupply should not pose a problem

As very few have hiked it yet, you’ll be pleased to hear there is a Guthook Guide. There are some blazes and emblems, as well..

Details on the official website