Category: snow and ice

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It’s SUMMER in Patagonia ☀️

November in frozen Canada makes me start dreaming of another hiking trip to Patagonia.

Best hike?

One of the best for sure is the Paine Circuit in Chile.

Some call it the “O” trek as contrasted with the shorter “W” trail.

w_sm

When to Go

The best — and only — time to complete the O Circuit is in the Chilean summer, from late November to mid-March. …

The O Trek is a 7-night route that covers roughly 80 miles with roughly 13,000 feet of elevation gain. …

Accommodations and Food

At every stop along the O Trek there are “refugios” — think mountain huts and small ski lodges with bathrooms and small markets attached. Each site has a base price for folks who plan to set up their own tent and cook their own meals. Enclosed cooking huts are provided.

From there, hikers can upgrade and rent pre-erected tents, domes, hostel beds, and more depending on each site. Sleeping bags can also be rented at refugio sites. …

Booking & Cost

Our total booking cost was $507 for two people and 7 nights of camping.

This cost did not include groceries and food, our park pass, or travel to, or accommodations in, Puerto Natales.

Booking in advance is highly recommended, especially if you want to camp.

Booking last minute is possible, but there may only be expensive lodging options (like a hostel bed) left. …

Guide to the ‘O Trek’ in Los Torres National Park

Grey Pass

Check our Paine Circuit information page.

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I’m BOOKED ➙ Faroe Islands, Summer 2024

by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Postponed in 2023 … this time I made my reservations 10 months in advance to get the ferries I wanted. And inexpensive accommodation.

I can cancel accommodation at no cost.

If I eventually have to cancel the ferries, I’ll pay 10% of the € 337 total cost for me, my bike, and a bunkbed on the ship.

The Faroe Islands are expensive and in high demand, high season. Far less so if you book long ahead of time.

Mulafossur waterfall in Gasadalur

July 27th – depart Hirtshals (Denmark) on the Smyril ferry

July 28th – arrive Tórshavn (Faroe Islands)

Aug 7th – depart Tórshavn

Aug 8th – arrive Seyðisfjörður (Iceland) at 8:30am

That gives me 9 full days for cycling and hiking. Weather is a factor, of course. Faroe Islands are just south of the Arctic Circle.

Cycling Faroe Islands – Generated with AI ∙Dall-E 3

The more days, the more opportunity for clear skies. 😀

I booked during the Olympics.

IF it rains 😀, I’ll instead be following the action in Paris online. Indoors.

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Iceland ➙ Laugevagur Trail YOYO – day 4

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Sept. 16, 2023

Álftavatn ➙ Langidalur camp

Shortly after packing up the tent Sept. 16th, the rain began. 💧

I put away the camera and took not one photo nor video for the entire day.

It was head down. One foot after the other for about 34 tough kms.

I was only able to get shelter from constant rain and high winds for late lunch at Emstrur / Botnar. It was still open as the American guided group was there that night — and provided a cook tent.

Hiking Laugevagur leaves you almost entirely unprotected from the elements. There is no place to hide.

I’d seen the monument to Ido Keinan who died, lost 1 kilometre away from the hut in Hrafntinnusker. Exposure during a late June storm.

I used the free Maps.me app offline to confirm I was on the trail. This works in the dark or the middle of dense cloud.

… After about 11 hours with very few breaks, I made it to Langidalur hut in Þórsmörk.

In fact, I HAD to keep walking all day to stay warm!

I marched past, trying to cross the river to Basar campsite, closest to the start of next day’s Fimmvörðuháls hike. I’d heard the hut had been closed most of the summer, but that the campground was open.

The wardens were having dinner. Called me over. And explained that they’d taken out the bridges due to the continuous rain. The river was impassable.

I had a choice to be a wet rat in a wet tent for the night. Or check in to the hut at a cost of about $90.

Another fun guided group convinced me to join them inside. Gave me $5 hot shower tokens. And offered me dinner and wine. It was perhaps the best $90 I ever spent.

Sept. 17, 2023

I was still hopeful the rain would break and I’d somehow be able to cross the river. And continue to the coast.

BUT the wardens and tour group offered me a chance to get a lift with them back to Reykjavik. I couldn’t say no.

Morning did arrive with better weather.

We did some day hiking.

Þórsmörk (Thorsmork – the Valley of Thor) is an area where trees are protected. And there are some surprisingly large trees.

Our bus did get stuck crossing the river for rendezvous. But the wardens have a tractor for flattening the river bed and even towing the bus, if needed.

The driver did not look worried. This is situation normal for him.

I enjoyed the ride back to Reykjavik with the tour group. Weather mixed, but improving.

Overall I was thrilled with the hike. Happy to have done the YOYO. Happy to have had only one day of bad weather in September.

This was a win.

Check our Laugevagur Trail information page for how to organize this adventure for yourself.

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Iceland ➙ Laugevagur Trail YOYO – day 3

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Sept. 15, 2023

Álftavatn ➙ Landmannalaugar ➙ Álftavatn YOYO

Wow. Weather continues to be fantastic for September.

My PLAN was to leave the tent behind. Hike to the hot springs at Landmannalaugar and YOYO back before dark.

For me it was 5 hours to Landmannalaugar. 1 hour lunch and hot springs. 6 hours back.

Around 40 tough kms.

I left in the dark.

It did turn out to be one of the greatest days hiking of my life.

I’ll let the photos explain. 😀

I had 9 hours with vistas like this.

It’s a gorgeous area of the world. Part snow and ice. Part volcanic landscape.

There is real risk of stepping into boiling mud accidentally.

All sorts of weird snow caves and tunnels.

Of the plants here, I liked cottongrass best.

It’s in this high section in a snow storm where people might most easily lose the trail. Therefore it’s better marked with cairns and posts than anywhere else on the trail.

I had lunch at Hrafntinnusker. Met a fun American guided group who I would bump into several more times over the next 2 days.

As you approach the end, there’s more and more volcanic activity.

Landmannalaugar came into sight. My half way point for the day.

In August, the hot springs at Landmannalaugar are typically crowded.

But in mid-September there were only a few people enjoying a huge pool.

It’s hot. You can easily get scalded so positioning yourself carefully is critical. This was my best spot.

I had lunch. Then started back the way I had come. STILL confident I could get to my tent before dark. 😀

The return trip was equally good. But different in that you are facing the opposite direction with much different light.

Happily, no rain the rest of the day.

There’s the lake. One more descent and I’ll make it.

Unfortunately, It WAS dark before I got home. Days are already getting short in Iceland in September.

Even with a good headlamp it was easy to lose the trail. I had to rely on the GPS via Maps.me in order not to get lost.

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Iceland ➙ Laugevagur Trail YOYO – day 2

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Sept. 14, 2023

Emstrur / Botnar ➙ Lake Álftavatn

A lovely, quiet evening at Botnar.

More gorgeous weather. I was feeling very lucky for mid-September.

Quite early in the day I stopped to shoot a lot of drone footage near this scenic, stark peak.

There were some bridges.

DCIM\100MEDIA\DJI_0741.JPG

And we waded some rivers. All quite easy late in the season with no recent rain.

I had lunch at Hvanngil camp. Still open.

Continued on to Álftavatn camp which was closed for the season.

Often open until Sept. 17th, it depends somewhat on how many hikers book in advance.

I spoke with wardens at another camp who didn’t yet know what would be their last day.

The sit-down toilets were locked up for the winter, as well. But each camp seems to have one long drop toilet open year round.

Weather still good, I did some day hiking until dark.

Getting up and away from the main trail is easy and fun.

I couldn’t decide which of these next 2 photos to include. 😀

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Iceland ➙ Laugevagur Trail YOYO – day 1

Sept. 13, 2023

Þórsmörk ➙ Emstrur Botnar

There are 3 main huts / camping areas at Þórsmörk:

The bus delivered us to Volcano hut.

We did NOT get stuck in the rivers.

Volcano hut offers these luxurious rental tents. Glamping. 😀

I dropped my pack and — as the weather was good — hiked up the closest viewpoint with most everyone who had arrived with me.

Wow. This is the Iceland I remember.

I planned to cross this river on foot when I returned.

We took a different trail down to Langidalur camp. Then hiked around the mountain back to Volcano.

It was only 13.5km to the first official campsite Emstrur / Botnar so I was in no rush.

I took a lot of photos. Shot plenty of video.

River Crossings

The most dangerous part of hiking Laugevagur are the river crossings. Plan carefully what footwear you want for wading slippery stones in (potentially) a thigh high. strong current.

I hiked in approach shoes. Used trail runners with neoprene booties for the river crossings and around camp.

Once in a while you have the luxury of a bridge.

Most available bridges are across gorges too steep to wade.

The trail is fairly well signed.

IF you have good visibility, it’s not easy to wander off trail.

Weather changes frequently. Sometimes drastically.

I love the bleak, treeless landscapes when the sun is low.

I’d camped at Emstrur Botnar 5 years earlier and liked the tent sites, somewhat protected from the wind.

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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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Zugspitze – Germany’s Highest Mountain

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Weather-wise, this was one of the best of the year. ☀️

I’d waited for a good weather window before heading to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

The Zugspitze, at 2,962 m (9,718 ft) above sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains and the highest mountain in Germany.

It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, and the Austria–Germany border is on its western summit. …

On the flanks of the Zugspitze are two glaciers, the largest in Germany: the Northern Schneeferner with an area of 30.7 hectares and Höllentalferner with an area of 24.7 hectares.

Shrinking of the Southern Schneeferner led to the loss of glacier status in 2022.

Zugspitze from the Austrian village Ehrwald

Wanting to beat the rush — as much as possible — I caught the first cable car up in the morning from the Germany side. And immediately headed up to the former “glacier“.

Once 1.5km thick, it may be gone entirely by 2035.

This is the Zugspitze plateau. You can do a self-guided glacier walk. Or sign-up for a guided tour.

From here, I had to take another cable car up to the summit.

Three cable cars run to the top of the Zugspitze. …

The rack railway and the Eibsee Cable Car, the third cableway, transport an average of 500,000 people to the summit each year. …

… Did I miss the race? 😀

I didn’t bother getting in the long line to scramble up to the summit Cross.

Too. Many. Tourists.

BUT … all-in-all, I’m glad I joined the mob atop Zugspitze. The vistas are fantastic on a clear day.

I had been considering hiking down — until I heard it was 7-10 hours!

Instead, I descended by cable car and hiked Eibsee. 😀

Circuiting the lake was much easier.

Click PLAY or watch Rick Steves on YouTube.

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Hiking Brosmetinden out of Tromsø, Norway

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

I flew to Tromsø — well above the Arctic Circle — to begin a long bikepacking tour of the west coast.

In good weather there are MANY great hikes out of Tromsø — but the best close to town looked to be Brosmetinden.

I was inspired by the post by local hiker Maria Wulff Hauglann:

7 Easy Hikes With Spectacular Views In Tromso, Norway

I followed Maria’s recommendations, using AllTrails for navigation.

The 1-hour drive (from downtown Tromso) out to where the Brosmetind walking path starts is fantastic too.

… valleys with tall peaky mountains that go straight into the sea.

One of these fjords is Grotfjord. You should make a stop in Grotfjord and walk along the huge white-sandy beach.

You will have an awesome panoramic view from the start to finish. So if you don’t have to go all the way to the top to get a great view. You can turn around whenever you want …

  • Height: 525 meters above sea level
  • Distance to walk: 4 km both ways
  • Time: 1-2 hours (round-trip)

How to get there by bus: Take the district bus no. 425 to Tromvik or Rekvik, and walk from there to the starting point of the hiking path to Brosmetinden. Tell the driver that you want to hike Brosmetinden and he will let you off at the right place.

You can purchase tickets on board the bus, but cash payments only, or you can buy a ticket through the app “Troms Billett”. You can check the bus schedule HERE (search the Travel Planner from “Tromsø Prostneset” to “Rekvikvegen (Tromsø)” or through the app “Troms Reise”.

I hiked on Canada Day – July 1st. Wore my CANADA clothing. 🇨🇦

Weather was sunny — but super windy. Too windy to fly the drone. But it was nice to have enough wind to blow away the mosquitoes and horseflies.

It’s a quick hike to reach the sea cliffs. And a scenic scramble up to the top.

I camped at Grotfjord beach, on Maria’s recommendation.

An excellent short day hike — but quite a detour off the usual tourist route.

I cycled an extra 64km to get there.