Day minus 6 - Packing and blog setup
Heading to Iceland again, mid-summer this time, to meet up with my Best Roomie Belinda who is flying in from Canada, with a plan to walk the Laugavegur & Fimmvorduhals trails in the highlands. The L trail is 55km long and can be walked in 2-4 days, and the Fimm trail is an additional 35km which can be walked in 1-2 days. We're allowing for 6 days hiking in total, so approx 12-25km per day, with plenty of photo stops along the way. We are camping, as you have to book super early to get huts, and then you are tied to whatever days you've booked, regardless of weather. We figured that tenting would give us more flexibility, the downside being we have to carry tents, sleeping mat, cooking gear and food.
Much effort has been put into finding the lightest of each type of kit, and being surprised at how quickly something like a pair of sox that weighs nothing (90g) soon adds up to an extra kilo when you throw in a few "just in case". So I have packed, repacked, thrown out, culled, bought lighter versions, and debated at length what heavy photography gear will make the cut.
In the end I went for an Aarn backpack (designed in NZ) with Photo Balance pockets. The pockets sit at the front, on metals frames that clip onto the waist belt, rather like very large boobs. They seem to work though, there is no weight on my shoulders, I'm carrying it all on my hips. I've done a few practice runs locally, with it packed with the gear I intend to take. Latest weigh in showed just under 13kg for the backpack, with no water. I may yet cull some of the food. The front booby packs will be about another 5kg by the time I add a camera and 2nd lens. I've decided not to take a tripod, as it is light 24 hours so there will be little need for long exposures. I hope that ends up being the right decision, but at 1.5kg for the lightest normal height tripod I could afford, even that is too heavy for something I "might" need.
My tent is about 1.5kg with a light sleep mat and a super light but very warm sleeping bag. The temps can range from as low as 0 degrees at night, to maybe 16 on a fine sunny day. As it's Iceland, expect 4 seasons in one day, and count on plenty of rain and wind. I didn't skimp on my tent, you can get ones that use hiking poles for support, instead of purpose built poles, which of course is lighter. But I felt that wasn't smart for a rookie like me, and I eventually decided on a 4 season one that has a good reputation for surviving strong winds.
Food is a selection of freeze-dried fare, with some good old cup-a-soup and of course, coffee bags. Coffee is essential, even in the Icelandic highlands! I have a small camp stove and titanium pots and eating utensils. The huts have free toilets and showers (for a fee) which campers can use, but we are not allowed in the huts or kitchens.
Clothes are the bare minimum, one set to wear, with layers plus waterproofs, and one set of sleeping clothes (wool long johns and wool long sleeve, hat, buff and clean sox) to change into at night, and next morning I get back into my same wet stinky gear for hiking. There are a few river crossings, so I have some croc-like holey shoes with waterproof sox for warmth, as the water will be just above freezing. Rivers should only be knee height at most, but the cold will be a shock. It's not recommended to cross barefoot as it's stoney, and I would rather not get my walking boots wet if I can help it, they will never dry out.
Getting to the start and from the finish of the hike is a bit of a faff, and Iceland could do with some enterprising peeps that run a convenient shuttle. We're hiring a camper again, but will have to park that up while we hike, and bus from Hella to the start of the trail at Landmannalaugar, and a bus from the end of the trail at Skogar (assuming we make it !) back to the van at Hella. The trip into Landmannalaugar I believe goes through some serious river crossings, so that will be fun.
Have spent most of today doing a final pack and shuffle of gear. I had to take two bags this time, there's just no way I can get all my camping gear as well as what I need for the rest of the 3 week trip into one 23kg bag.
I leave Saturday 19th July flying Air NZ to JFK, 16 1/4 hours flight, and have about 5 hours to get thru immigration and re-check my bags to Icelandic Air to Keflavik airport, for another 6 hour flight arriving 9am on 20th July.
Here are a couple of links which describe the hike, to give you some idea of what we are in for, and why we decided to do this.
Comments
Post a Comment