Iceland Photos: Laugavegur Trail Part 3

Parts 1 and 2 of this trail narrative are here and here. Today we'll finish the trail, enjoy some time and a couple of good meals in Thorsmork (which is a place, not a town), and get the bus back to Reykjavik.

Laugavegur Trail Day 4: Emstrur Hut to Thorsmork 

After sleeping early and hard, it was no surprise to be up early. Because the hut was so crowded it seemed best to just get out of the way ASAP, and because once again weather might be better in the morning, I was off about half past 7, in a light rain and stiff breeze (a huge improvement over howling winds).

The all-important, if largely useless, forecast board.

 

With far less wind and barely any rain, I was able to put my camera back on the packstrap, under my poncho, where I could access it and finally start shooting with a real camera again. 

Looking back at the hut. I think the giant tents stay there all season for guided hikers; there were other spots for the actual backpackers, poor wet souls.

I think all the green stuff (Icelandic moss? Which, according to signs by the highway, is actually lichen) goes brown when dry. Needless to say, it was green during my visit.

The Fremri-Emstrud river flows into the Markarfljot below the canyon we visited the night before. It's coming straight out of the glacier. 

 

About the time the trail dropped to cross the river, my hiking companion of the previous evening, Ian from England, caught up with me and we hiked together the rest of the way. It was the first time I hiked with anyone, and I enjoyed the conversations.

Bridge over the Fremri-Emstrud.

View from the bridge. These glacial rivers, unlike the ones I'm used to coming off the Cascade volcanoes, run dark with black silt from all the black volcanic rock.

I'm not quite sure how basalt columns form in a pattern like this. Looks like the beard of a troll. Maybe it is. 

The weather really did turn benign. I actually got warm enough I had to take off my hat!

A rare sighting of the author not fully bundled up.

The hike was a steady drop out of the highlands toward the vegetated regions. 

Grasses had become common by the mid-point of the day's hike.

Thorsmork means "Thor's forest," and is in fact a rare remnant of the forests that Iceland had in moderate abundance before the settlers arrive in the 800s and needed to build ships & houses, heat their homes, and smelt steel. The native birch forests, slow-growing and a bit scrubby to eyes used to more southern forests, were also cleared for grazing, and sheep effectively prevented any return of the forests. (Learn more about Icelandic deforestation and reforestation). In any case, for some reason (inaccessibility?) this bit of birch forest remains.

Great excitement ensued at the first sighting of trees. 

In a grove of trees we met another of our hut's hikers, who shot some pictures of me standing on an innocent little bridge. Below that bridge--25 or so feet below--a stream races through a slot canyon. 

Based on a sign nearby, until 1986 you got to cross that stream on a board.

Google translate tells me that plank from 1981 was the first bridge of any sort over the stream. Fording scary water has long been a part of life in Iceland.

Speaking of fording streams, we had one last river to cross. This one, the Thronga, is a braided tributary of the now immense Markarfljot. Being so braided, it was the easiest to cross, and I kept my boots dry, changing to the sandals I'd carried so far and used so little. I could have done this one solo, but was happier hanging onto Nina as we picked our way across two main channels.

Looking back at what we crossed. Some people didn't see the second channel and had to change shoes twice! We didn't see it, either, but had our eyes fixed on the forest as a place to sit down and dry our feet, so got lucky. Glacial rivers are cold, if you are wondering. Really cold.

The trail wound its way down to the Thorsmork area, and my companions split off for the Langidalur hut, while I continued straight to the Volcano Huts. Patches of blue showing in the sky and thinning clouds gave glimpses of the high route over to Skogafoss that Ian was planning to hike the next day. The weather wasn't super encouraging, and I hope he made it okay.

At the edge of the mountains. The river has a fair way to go, but we are already looking out at the coastal plain.

I was excited to arrive and be allowed into the hut at once--and to find that our hut had a bathroom and shower inside! No more dashing outside in the wind and rain at 2 a.m.! 

I could have bought lunch at the lodge, but opted to eat up my own food. Dinner and breakfast were paid for in my lodging package, and were all-you-can-eat, which turned out to be a lot after 4 days on the trail!

 

Bunkroom in the hut. It also had a decent kitchen, the aforementioned bathroom, and a large sitting/dinning room.

There were a lot of little elf-houses around the Volcano Huts at Thorsmork. I was careful not to disturb anything. You don't want the elves mad at you. 

The round thing is the sauna, but the house on the right must be for elves.

Stats: 4 1/2 hours of hiking, plus 32 minutes of rest/shoe-changing. 10.18 miles, and a 1767' descent. Surprisingly, we also climbed nearly 900', according to my app (which is often suspect).

 Final Day (Sept. 10): Thorsmork to Reykjavik

This was the final day of the hike. The bus wouldn't come until 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon, and the rain wasn't supposed to come until about noon. So the lot of us headed out to climb Valahnukur, a 1526' peak overlooking the river valleys on both sides, and with hopes of views of the ice fields, too.

Forest floor--not something we'd been seeing the past 4 days!

We had way too much fun taking photos of each other and admiring the new views every few yards.

Taking advantage of a bench to sit down for a minute.

Our crew, climbing the steps to the summit of Valahnukur.

The climb was worth it. The ice fields were partly obscured by the clouds, but the views still boggled the mind a bit.

 
After one of us found a great point on which to pose like we'd conquered the world, of course we all had to do so.

Me, imitating someone who has managed a great feat. 

The birch forest had a few trees bigger than scrub. 

Part of our outing was to get to the official end of the trail, which was NOT where our lodgings were. We got there as the rains began and took time for photos before hurrying back. None of us wanted to sit on the bus all evening in soggy clothes.

The bus ride, just as at the beginning of the trip, was part of the adventure. They send in a special bus for the first part, one that is up for fording pretty serious glacial rivers. I was lucky enough to score a front seat (helps to let everyone know that I get motion sickness. Really bad motion sickness), so I got good views of the process.

Of of a half dozen river crossings before we were back to a real road.

The rain set in with enthusiasm, and views were frequently limited.

The town of Selfoss, and one of the rivers that kept settlements on the south coast isolated until the 19th Century.

By the time we got back to Reykjavik, there were only 4 of our set of compadres left together. We four went out to dinner at the painfully fashionable hour of 9-something p.m. 

A really tasty roasted cauliflower with some ridiculously rich sauce, pomegranates, and almonds. The red drink is an Icelandic beer.

Thus ends the saga of the Laugavegur Trail. I turned around and caught a bus at 8:30 the next morning to pick up my campervan for the next segment of my journey. Watch for photos next weekend!

 ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2025   
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated.


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