Day 5 - Laugavegur: Hrafntinnusker to Hvanggil
Otherworldly landscapes
Your 15.8km/9.8mi day begins with volcanic glass and gleaming snowy ridges and valleys, before descending to Álftavatn. A spectacular start but, unbelievably, the day becomes even more breathtaking. The colours, steam and snow are exceptional, but the highlight is the view across Álftavatn from the highlands to which you descend over a knee cracking 500m/1640ft or so.
I edit images to recreate what I felt I saw, rather than changing colours to make the image pretty. Yes, it really looked like that, a landscape in colours that were previously inconceivable to Australian eyes like mine. This walk is extraordinary because of its variety – new scenes every hour, and completely new ones again every day. Today does not disappoint.
Map and elevation gain/loss.
Walk with Us:
Yummy breakfast noodles with protein and vegetables … and not a bad view from the breakfast table!
Ready to head off. The weather is perfect – the views will be wonderful – and we’re raring to go. You can see our clothing layering system of wool base layers, synthetic fleece, and waterproof wind shell for the top, with synthetic (not cotton) pants. Cotton is very cold when wet and takes ages to dry; a hiker saying is, “cotton kills.”
First up, head due south across the plain.
Looking back towards Hrafntinnusker Hut, just visible top right.
You can be incredibly lucky with the weather, so enjoy it while it lasts. Today, the sky suggests it will overdevelop and cloud over this afternoon; in this situation, try to see all of the highest section before then.
Háskerðingur peak and Kaldaklofsjökull.
Some more snow walking - but it’s a firm path so going is easy.
At the edge of the Torfajökull caldera with more incredible colours. And just look at how fast those clouds are building! It will sock in for sure.
Saxifraga sp.
Adapted to an incredibly harsh environment.
Onwards after your break.
Steaming water right beside snow. No superlatives left!
But wait, what is this?!? That aqua green below? It is literally hard to believe our eyes.
The long, spectacular descent down Jökultungur begins.
As suspected — there is weather on the way from the west.
Álftavatn (Swan Lake) and the Álftavatn Valley.
Ever closer, with that rain encroaching. Conical Hattfell behind the lake, Torfatindur to the right and Brattháls to the left. And there’s your destination for a hot lunch – Álftavatn Huts, the little cluster of buildings just left of the lake.
Safe inside now. No pictures of the approach: the rain is hammering on the roof, raingear and boots are in the wet room. The weather-sealed Olympus is fine in drizzle, but not when it’s bucketing!
Hot soup, yum even at $28/bowl!
Another notorious tent-destroying campsite with one lone dome – stunning, but windy. Still, even the loos are picturesque!
YMMV, but we decide to push past this popular spot to Hvanggil to stay at the smaller but more sheltered campsite, adding 3.4km/2.1mi to the day .
After lunch, you have a small stream to cross. The squalls are easing and the cloud hasn’t descended completely, which is fantastic.
Just this morning, you were in snow and richly coloured earth. And now look!
Stórasúla Volcano.
And finally at Hvanggil or “Angel Valley”.
The campsites are quite small and there are not many of them. All the best flat spots are gone. There are some humps under our tent! But who cares with the views we’ve had today?
Dinner with yet another view. What a day!