Laugavegur - Day 3 - Hiking through the Highlands

We have hiked all the way from Landmannalaugur to Thorsmörk with the worst weather conditions and the most beautiful views! Our third Day...

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The other hikers probably hated us this morning, when my alarm clock ringed at half past 5. But we really wanted to see the canyon nearby - and the last bus from Thorsmörk back to Reykjavik was going to leave at 4 pm. We couldn’t believe our eyes when we pushed open the hut’s door: Could that really be the SUN blinking at us? 

The day kept its promise. The first time on our trip we actually felt warm while walking! So warm that we had to get rid of our long woolen underwear and were even able to walk some parts in T-shirts only!

The canyon was worth getting up that early! And so we made good for all the pictures we did NOT take yesterday, due to the bad weather (and the more or less monotonous landscape).

It was already 10 o’clock when we returned to Emstrur and sallied for today’s march to Thorsmörk. The warden’s words in mind that we would need at least 6, maybe 7 hours to reach Thorsmörk and therefore would never catch the bus in time, we kept our breaks short (we were kind of used to it by now) and set a swift tempo. It took 4.5 hours - bamm!! :D

Although our feet, knies and shoulders were badly affected, the sunshine and the bright blue sky made us walk elatedly and cheerfully. Only stairs-like ascents and descents were kind of challenging… But not as painful as climbing actual stairs the days after!

Maybe it was just because the weather yesterday was so bad - but TODAY the landscape was absolutly dreamlike again. The closer we came to Thorsmörk, the richer the vegetation got. In lieu of the omnipresent moss on barren lava rocks we saw bushes in red, yellow and a vivid green. And every now and then, we even passed a tree! Not especially big ones, but still a miracle every time! :D

Today, we almost welcomed the river - A good opportunity for the feet to evaporate a bit! Besides, we had been told that the river was close to Thorsmörk. Which meant we were almost there!

Nevertheless we nearly managed to get lost on the last meters… But it wasn’t all our fault! The path, that led away from the “road” (In Germany you would rather call it a beaten track…) and, according to the sign, to our destination, ended in a more than hundred meters deep slope. So we went back and followed the road until a group of hikers approached us and told us, that the road would not lead to Thorsmörk either, but ended in nothing. Now we were desperate: The only remaining way was the one back to Landmannalaugur.

But the rescue arrived a few minutes later in form of two Czechs with GPS. With their help we finally found the secret climb-down to the valley of Thorsmörk.

And then we arrived! After 55 kilometer of hiking, 1700 meters in altitude up and 2100 meters down, several blisters and the strangest conversations (that seemed to grew on abstrusity the farther we got)... WE MADE IT!!!

This post is part of a whole series called "Laugavegur - Hiking through the Highlands" in which we describe our experience of hiking all the way from Landmannalaugur to Thorsmörk in 3 days.

You missed the beginning? Click here to read about our First Day: Laugavegur - Day 1 - Hiking through the Highlands

To Day 2: Laugavegur - Day 2 - Hiking through the Highlands

You want to experience it yourself?

Here you can book this trip: Laugavegur Trekking