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Iceland: July 20-26, 2026

The start of an epic adventure.

Greg doesn’t like to go anywhere in July and our White Rim experience brought back memories of backpacking in my 20s. So, I was inspired to find another multi day adventure out in the wilderness. I landed on an all women six day guided and supported hut to hut hiking trip with Viking Women on the Laugavegur Trail. This was my first big solo international trip. It was exhilarating, challenging, and so incredibly beautiful.

There were 12 of us plus our amazing guide, Anna. She truly loves her homeland and is so knowledgeable as well as fun and caring. We ranged in age from 29 to 64. There were three pairs of friends and the rest of us were solo travelers.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS LOOONG, BUT MORE PICS THAN WORDS

Day 1: Landmannalaugar to Hrafntinnusker

~7.5 miles  ~2,100 feet

This day had the most varied terrain and weather as the hut is located at the highest point on the trail. There were numerous fumaroles and various sizes of hot springs.

 

Obsidian at the top of the first climb.

Looking back at where we started.

The first of many signs we saw along the trail.

The first of many snow patches. (That’s me with the mauve colored pack.)

That steam is where we were headed. The next picture is a video of that steam up close.

We were way down there to the left of that beautiful blue hot spring.

Visibility really changed as we climbed. We hiked across so much snow. It was melting below us in many places.

I stayed surprisingly positive through this section, but I really do wonder what it looks like in clear weather.

Finally the hut came into view! This was the only hut with pit toilets and no showers. It was so cold and windy no one cared that we couldn’t shower. The walk around to the bathrooms was quite unwelcome in the weather.

We had a room to ourselves at the first hut. Bunkbeds lined two walls with tables in the middle. Top bunk was a single and bottom was a double. Kathy (on the left) was my bunkmate. Mary (in the middle) had a bag of travel size booze and was happy to share. Cheers!

Day 2: Hranfntinnusker to Alftavatn

~7 miles ~1,100 feet *1 river crossing

The start of day 2 was super uninspiring, but Anna insisted the weather would improve eventually. In reality, it got worse before it got better. (That’s me at the back on the right.)

The wind increased and the rain was hitting us diagonally. Anna captured it in the above video and the rest of didn’t even think about using our phones. The rain dripped its way down our rain pants into our shoes and many of us had wet socks. Several of us thought our rain jackets were keeping us dry but we eventually found out our next layer was slowly getting wet.

In the gullies we had a reprieve from the weather…some of us wanted to hang out there. 😉

 

It became muddy and slippery.

Go down a ravine, cross a creek and go up the other side. Repeat. (That’s me on the left.)

The first water crossing and the only one with a cable for support. That water was COLD and moving quite fast. (I am the last one in the pictures.)

It was quite time consuming to remove and put back on socks and shoes. Thankfully it had stopped raining and I put on my back up pair of dry socks. (That’s me in the foreground.)

Somewhere along this portion I got myself a bag of black volcanic sand to add to my collection.

We kept our rain covers on in hopes of keeping the rain from starting again, but it didn’t fool the rain gods.

Just as the huts came into view it started to rain again.

There was a nice boardwalk between the huts and bathrooms with showers! And beer for sale! I treated to myself to a shower and possibly more than one beer.

We shared this hut with at least 14 other people. Many arrived after us and were even wetter. Every possible space was used to dry things plus the mud room was overflowing with clothes hanging from the provided lines and hangers. It was quite a cluster fuck of fighting for space to get things dry. The two electric heaters were at high demand for drying smaller items and shoes.

Day 3: Alftavatn to Emstrur

~10 miles  ~1,800 feet  *2 water crossings

We woke to cloudy skies but no rain, only some wind!

Day 3 started with a water crossing only 30 minutes into the hike. Zoe and I buddied up and giggled our way across the river.

The first sighting of blue skies! Happy happy joy joy!

Clearing skies and another river. The shadow in the second picture is the bridge.

We walked up stream to cross this river where it was wide and not as deep.

It became beyond windy for this long mostly flat section. I may have gotten a tad bit grumpy. “The road goes on forever and the party never ends.” (If you know, then you know.)

This was the biggest river of the trip. Quite impressive.

There was much more walking in the wind. Erica cracked me up with this comment: “When did Iceland become not pretty? When the wind hit 80 miles an hour!” Alas, we started heading downhill and the huts came into view.

The wind was kind enough to die down, but it was chilly as dinner was prepared.  Zoe and I became super excited when the clouds lifted and we could see the glacier. Many of the ladies loved that I brought my binocs.

This hut was smaller and Anna asked for three of us to volunteer to sleep in a tent. I was more than happy to volunteer after I saw how small and cramped it was. Frederike and I slept like queens on really nice mattresses in one of those grey tents.

After dinner hike

Anna took six of us to the canyon and it did not disappoint.

Looking north up the canyon. This is the same big river we crossed earlier in the day.

Looking south down the canyon.

So incredibly happy right here.

Entujokull glacier looked amazing as we headed back to the hut.

Day 4: Emstrur to Dorsmork

~10.5 miles  ~2,200 feet  *1 river crossing

Day 4 started out with the possibility of rain that thankfully never came. It turned out to be a perfect day for the last hike of the Laugavegur trail.

Lovely river crossing about 45 minutes into day 4.

After crossing the river we hiked along side it for quite a while.

Just having fun being silly.

Looking back at where we came from.

Unicorn Mountain

This was the last river crossing. It was actually the most dangerous one so there are no action shots. Anna was adamant about us being careful. It was the fastest moving river we crossed.

The last hut came into view after a long descent on many many steps. We had our own room in this hut and stayed for two nights. I had a top bunk all to myself!

A bunch of happy Viking Women!

Day 5  Tindfjoll Circle Hike

~7.5 miles ~1,700 feet

Seven of us went on this hike. It was beautiful and very different from what we had been hiking.

The viewpoint was amazing!

That’s a glacier behind us.

Day 6 Hike to Valahnukur Mountain

~4 miles  ~800 feet

Great view of where we started the hike.

Our last hike together.

Flowers galore!

Zoe showing the length of the Laugavegur trail on the whole map of Iceland. It felt like so much more!

I’m so grateful for this trip of a lifetime. ❣️

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26 thoughts on “Iceland: July 20-26, 2026”

  2. What a wonderful entry. Thanks for including us. Being cold sounds so awesome but wet feet? That’s calling on some kick ass grin and bear it woman power right there!!!

    I was bitching about our heat but maybe now I can better appreciate our flip flop summer weather looking at your pics all bundled.

    Love the group shots…making memories, one step at a time. Look at you!!! Wooohooo!!! Go, Mous, Go!!!!! A true inspiration.

    Reply

    • Thanks so much Jen Jen! Since everything else was also wet the wet feet barely registered, but yeah, it was a put your head down and march on.

      Reply

  6. Ok, so where do I even begin. I am so in awe of you. Your free spirit serves you well.
    The fact that you felt compelled to take this trip shows what a connection you have with your soul and to our amazing mother earth. I felt excited and breathless at times looking at all of your pictures. I hope you never lose that sense of wonder and boldness.

    I thank you and Greg for starting this blog so that the rest of us could journey with you.
    Get some rest and rejoice in your accomplishments.

    Reply

  7. OMG girl, you ROCK!!! I would have wimped out with the cold, wind and getting wet. Love your pictures and narrative. Thank you for sharing your amazing adventure. Where to next?

    Reply

  12. I have sooo many questions! What beautiful storytelling! Thank you for taking us along on the adventure. So beyond proud of you!

    Reply

  13. Wow! Wow! Wow! I savored looking at your pics and reading your words. What a powerful way to connect with the beauty and strength of nature outside and within yourself. I wonder your thoughts as you felt cold, wet, and fatigue. You kicked some ass!!! What an inspiration. I picture your friendly self bringing smiles and comfort to the women you hiked with. You are just that way 🙂 If you ever feel doubts in life, you can refer back to this amazing experience you gave to yourself. Way to go Amelia!

    Reply

    • I’m not gonna lie…at one point on the second day in the wind and rain with no visibility, I had the thought of: I paid money to do this?!? But then I remembered that I was safe and experiencing all of mother nature’s glory so I focused on taking one step at a time knowing that the rain would eventually stop. And it did and it was magnificent and we all cheered!

      Reply

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