Day of Rest in Þórsmörk

After the two day trek across the Lagaveur Trail with a final 14 hour push through some of the most breathtakingly beautiful landscape I have ever seen, we were ready for some down time and much needed rest.  After all, this is supposed to be a vacation; Þórsmörk ended up being the best place in Iceland thus far to relax.

Spent two night here in a lush valley in the shadows the Myrdalsjökull and Eyjafjallajökull glaciers.

Woke up at 11:00 to a backpacking gourmet breakfast of dehydrated fruit and maple almond butter burritos.

After some hot showers we headed to the lodge to get some time out of the rain, I never realized how soaking wet I was from the previous 4 days of biking until I entered a dry structure.  

Still ravenously hungry we from the trail, we attacked this basket of fresh baked bread like a couple hyenas.  

Thick Icelandic butter, vegetable soup.

With a short break in the rain, I took advantage of my renewed energy to clean the bikes a bit.
Tourists pay big money for jars of volcanic ash, I was cursing it as I attempted to scrub it from all our components.  I shudder to think what my bearings look like.

Volcanic mud and sand turned the rims into grinders to quickly wear down the break pads to almost nothing during the previous day's descent.

Þórsmörk was bustling with people, as there was an ultramarathon running the same route we had biked the previous two days, this meant intertaining conversations with people from all over the globe who had come to Iceland to run the iconic Laugavegur trail.  

This years winner in 4 hours, 48 minutes, 8 seconds.

55 km, total elevation gain of 1900 meters (or 6233 feet) and total descent of 2200 meters (7218 feet) which took us a total of 19 hours of trail time on bikes, 5 hours the first day, 14 the second. 

We took advantage of all the special amenities provided for the racers, most notably massage and a fresh roasted Icelandic lamb feast. 





Ate dinner with some racers from Canada who had finished around the 6 hour 30 minute mark, who called us "crazy" and were equally amazed that we had completed the trek with bikes and were still on speaking terms with one another, and called Monica "hard core".

 Paradise camping; Sauna; Hot Springs; Yoga Yurt.

Barrel sauna and a dip in the hot spring pool.

Chillaxing under some fine needlepoint work of famous paintings.

Laugavegur Day 2

After a short rest in the sauna of a mountaintop hut, the foul weather returned with whiteout blizzard conditions.  

A heavy layer of slushy snow had fallen in the early hours of the morning; unsettling weather for early July biking.

We were initially able to overtake the group of trekers who had set out several hours earlier in the morning, but as we gained altitude, the sections of snow with a fresh layer of slush slowed our pace to a crawl.

Finally out of the hail storm.

False summit victory shot. The group of backpackers from Italy and Spain who took this picture caught sight of the "Merlin" logo partially hidden by my frame bag and began berating me for subjecting such a fine bicycle to the abuses of the Laugavegur Trail.   

Actual summit. Unfortunately the loose shale and steep grade dictated that we continue walking downhill for the initial descent.

Breaking for lunch at the Alftavatn Hut.

A welcome sight after a morning of endless pushing through snow, hail, slush, and mud.

The afternoon had many river crossings, some were knee deep, some were up to my hips.

Both of my Wiggy's ultralight hip-waiters developed leaks so I just went barefoot to try and minimize the sogginess of my pants, socks, and shoes. Water was just cold enough to completely numb my legs.  The benefits of a lightweight bike-packing kit readily evident as I was able to easily shoulder my loaded bike for one trip across each river, whereas another pair of bike travelers had to take three separate trips, one for the bike and two for each set of front and rear panniers.  

The luxury of a shallow ford.

From a morning of snow and hail to an afternoon of showers and rainbows.

Loud Waterfall.

Sandy single track, also prime terrain for a fatbike but we managed fine on our 'skinny' tires.

Beauty.

The rain helped to compact the black volcanic sand making the riding faster than it would have been in drier conditions.

Glad we didn't have to figure another way across this section of river.

Another glacier in the distance feeding the many frigid rivers carving into the undulating landscape.

Distant waterfalls.

 Thankfully the trail was well marked through the sections with an illdefined track.

More black desert.

Final glacial river crossing around 1:00 am "sun set".

Warm welcome at 2:00 am by Magnús the manager of Thōrsmōrk Volcano Huts, with a shot of "black death" a traditional Icelandic liqueur, as a prize for being the first people crazy enough to bike the Laugavegur trail for the 2013 summer with the "worst weather in 200 years".

The twilight of early morning as we finally made it to bed; long 14 hour day of travel.