Walk in to study the snout of a glacier coming off the Drangajökull icecap
Further North and Further West
Got up last as we are all a bit knackered and needed a lie in, and it was raining steadily. I eventually braved the elements and found out the rain was not as bad as it sounded in the tent. We troffed our breakfast and hit the road with the plan to head to the north-west part of Iceland. continue reading…
Last night's sunset at our campsite on the Eystri Jökulsá
A day of Recovery
The weather looked miserable this morning when we woke up in the Eystri Jökulsá valley. The rain came down as we left our campsite; Andy was driving and his right foot got wet as the rain drips through the front of the Landrover. continue reading…
Camp site on the Eystri Jokulsa
Eystri Jökulsá Day 2
Breakfast in bed again today. Sounds like a luxury, but when there are 3 smelly blokes in a two man tent, I can assure you that is not the case. Tom refuses to sleep in the middle, so I take that position; at least it is a bit warmer. continue reading…
Tom and Andy kayaking in Pyranha Mountain Bats on the Eystri Jokulsa
Eystri Jökulsá Day 1
Woke up and made breakfast in bed. Out of bed by the late hour of 10:15, and on the river by 11:15. This is the first day of our planned 2 day descent of the Eystri Jökulsá and the start of the river is rather flat, and there is a cold wind blowing off the Hofsjökull. . A chap stopped his car by as we were getting in a photographed us, something we are now getting used to.
Tom and Andy at the get-in on the Eystri Jökulsá with the Hofsjökull in the background
Running the Shuttle for the Eystri Jökulsá
Another cold start to the day at our campsite near the Hofsjökull, and another slow start. We pack up our main tent and get ready for 2 nights in the river tent, a 2 man tent that is just big enough to get us all in. It is a long shuttle and will take all day and eventually I am ready to go. continue reading…
At the put in on the Eystri Jokulsa, with the Hofsjökull in the background
Inspection of the upper Eystri Jökulsá
This is more like Iceland, woke up freezing cold, 5ºC outside and a heavy mist. Glad of a warm Rab sleeping bag on mornings like this. There is a bit of nervousness about running a canyon blind after some problems we had on the Jokulsá á Brü in 1989, so today we are going to walk over to the steeped looking part of the Eystri Jökulsá to check for horrors. continue reading…
Rob attempting to get clean in a hot spring on the Vestri Jokulsa
Hot bath in the Vestri-Jökulsá
After a late night, we slept in a bit and when we did get up, we were not allowed to get our own breakfast, but were invited back into the farm. These guys are great, fresh bread for breakfast – thanks very much!. We eventually extracted ourselves and headed for the Eystri Jökulsá. continue reading…
Dead Landrover at Farm C, correct type, broken springs
New Front Springs for the Landrover
Needed a lie in today, so I crawled out of bed after Tom and Andy this morning. We processed the last of this weeks food box and found a broken jar of jam at the bottom. More mass to add to the rusl. It was an imperative job today to sort out the Landrover as we were only able to limp about on tarmaced roads, so we headed off back to Akureyri in search of a garage. continue reading…
Tom kayaking on the Skjálfandafljót just above Aldeyjarfoss
A second go at the Skjálfandafljót
Bit of a late start, after the epic of yesterday. The early morning Landrover inspection reveals that one of the front springs has failed. The Landrover still rolls, and the front axle is not resting on the end stop, but there is quite a sag at the front, and we are concerned that the front axle may even come adrift. continue reading…
Andy looking into the sump at Tom's trapped Pyranha Mountain Bat
Tom’s Subterranean Kayak Adventure
Planned to kayak a short section of the Skjálfandafljót at Aldeyjarfoss and expected we would have a pleasant paddle on a good section of river. How wrong we were! This is a the section of river I had paddled in 1989 on the 3rd day of our 5 day descent of the Skjálfandafljót from the Vatnajokull to the sea. The day turned into a full-on epic when Tom made a decision to paddle nose first into a tiny sump and get his kayak wedged underground. Read on to find all the gory details….