![]() ![]() ![]() More than anyplace I’ve been–from Yellowstone to the rim of Mount St. It’s so raw I imagine a mighty hand peeling back the Earth’s crust to show what’s going on underneath. Besides hiking the Laugevegur, I’ll squeeze in a 4WD tour of the island’s interior, plus dayhikes on Snaekollur, a snowy peak overlooking four of Iceland’s six major glaciers, and a few obscure places pointed out by local guides.Īt every turn, I’m transfixed by the primeval terrain, aware that elemental forces are still shaping this landscape. The dream of descending into Iceland’s recesses never left me, and finally, 30 years later, I’ve engineered my own little journey. They discover a vast cavern illuminated by electrically charged gas, dodge ancient creatures, and generally have the sort of exotic adventure that bewitches 12-year-olds from factory towns like Leominster, Massachusetts. I was enthralled by Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, in which a teenager, his uncle, and a guide descend into an Icelandic volcano. I edge down toward the pool for a better photo angle, but the pumice collapses like slushy snow, and I frantically scrabble back up the slope, afraid I’ll slide in and boil like a giant human pot roast.Īs a kid, before I knew that hot springs could stew meat from bone, I might have taken that plunge. The startling contrast creates a scene that would make a geology professor swoon. A spring spills from the hole into the pool’s aqua waters, which overflow the opposite bank, sending a stream of bright blue meandering down a valley of impossibly green moss and black dirt. It sits against a hillside with a hole like a gaping maw. Later, at a spot along the path called Storihver, where numerous vents spew hot water, I wander off-trail over a rise and come upon a steaming pool about 20 feet across. Group of hikers going up the path at Landmannalaugar, Laugavegur trek, Iceland. Now, as I gaze across the smoking land, I think: This is how the Earth must have sounded not long after its birth, when the ground constantly trembled and belched and disgorged its surplus of heat and water, and there were no plants rustling in the wind or animal noises to amplify and add complexity to the soundtrack. Passing other hikers, mainly Icelanders and other northern Europeans, I’d soon found myself alone with the Arctic wind and occasional whistling steam vent. Just a few miles into the hike, I already see why. ![]() Friends had told me it deserves a place beside the Inca Trail, Annapurna Circuit, and Milford Track as one of the world’s most beautiful paths. Called the Laugarvegurinn (“Hot Spring Road”), or Laugavegur, it’s a three- to four-day, 33.5-mile, hut-to-hut trek across one of the most active geothermal areas on the planet. Landmannalaugar is famous both for its hot springs–the name means “bath of the countrymen”–and for the trail I’m hiking. I’m in Landmannalaugar, a park in the remote Fjallabak Nature Reserve of Iceland’s Central Highlands. It looks like Yellowstone’s Upper Geyser Basin, as seen by an ant. It’s a mind-boggling kaleidoscope that spreads for miles in every direction, unobstructed by anything taller than a clump of moss. Mudpots bubble and burp, their effluent dotting a giant canvas of black rhyolite, purple pumice, and electric-lime moss with paint-can spills of ochre, pink, gold, plum, rust, and honey. Steam from hot springs and other geothermal features rises from scores of points from here to the horizon. Actually, the land appears to be smoldering, stoked by some persistent blaze just beneath the surface. Sign up for Outside+ today and start planning your getaway. You also get access to all of our other titles, like Ski, Climbing, Yoga Journal, Triathlete, and more. Like what you see? Outside+ members get access to our full archive of adventure stories, not to mention the trips, interactive maps, skills, and gear reviews you need to plan your own bucket-list journey. That’s why we’re making this classic Backpacker feature available to everyone. There’s a whole world of backpacking out there-and we want to be your guide to it. Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth fitness, nutrition, and adventure courses and more than 2,000 instructional videos when you sign up for Outside+ ![]()
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