Day 23: Stykkishólmur – Búðardalur

We decide on the spur of the moment to climb Drápuhliðarfjall. The mountain had caught our eye over the past few days thanks to the beautiful colors of its rock formations. Eventually we find ourselves trudging and sliding through magnificent lava scree.

The trail is well-marked at first, but the higher we climb, the harder it becomes to find a path. We have to improvise our descent, and unfortunately, we end up trampling lichens, moss, and blueberry plants along the way. It’s crazy how deep you sink into the moss – especially since you never know what might be hiding underneath.

After three hours, we’ve covered about 6 km and a mere 430 meters of elevation gain – though it felt like more. It was fun, though.

The campsite in Buðardalur (population 246) is great. It’s larger than expected and features a relatively new sanitary block (3 toilets, 2 showers; about 30–40 occupied spots today...). A small kitchen comes in handy given the rising wind, and since the washing machine is available and also a dryer, we seize the opportunity – after all, we hardly ever get out of the same few sets of clothes :-)

By the way: We’re lucky with the weather. Light winds, conditions ranging from cloudy to sunny, and temperatures that could almost be described as mild.