Day 42: Mývatn – Herðubreið – Askja – Möðrudalur

The wind is annoying. We're actually in a pretty good spot, but the rooftop tent is still flapping and rattling. In the mornings, it's blowing hard, and everyone's cooking and eating breakfast in the small communal kitchen. There's an official storm warning for the Westfjords and the highlands – so what's this? No storm?

After some deliberation, we decide to go to the highlands and Askja anyway. Wolle didn't make it there five years ago, and for us, it's the best option now. And yes, it's worth it!

The first leg of the journey on the F88 involves three water crossings before reaching the campsite near Herðubreið. Lava fields, dust, wind. Sometimes there's a wide view, sometimes none at all. Somehow, the tracks remind us a bit of Namibia.

After a short lunch break, we continue on to Dreki, the cabin from which the trail to Askja begins.

We trudge two and a half kilometers (and a total of two and a half hours) through the snow (Yes!!!). And after everything had been more or less hidden behind a fog of sand and mist all day, we had a fantastic view of the large lake and the actual crater this evening. Magnificent.

We couldn't camp at either spot due to the strong winds.

So we continued on and decided – because we weren't entirely sure about the other roads – to take the F910/F905 up to Möðrudalur. Only 65 km from our starting point at Lake Mývatn :-)

A long day; at 10:00 pm we had a cheese sandwich and that was it.