report from the interior: Last adventure in Iceland: Into the Interior!

At Steinunn’s suggestion, I decided to take the bus through the interior instead of around the Ring Road (the main highway) to Reykjavik. Knowing that it would be a 9-hour trip on bumpy gravel roads, I booked an overnight in a tiny hamlet of mountain huts at Kerlingarfjöll, the halfway point. We set out in our “bus” (really a van) on paved roads, quickly to turn onto gravel that got progressively rougher as we went along. Our driver was a bit of a cowboy, careening along with gravel and dust flying, and bouncing so hard I thought the van would come apart. The Kjölur route, as it is called, runs through desert-like sand, dirt and stones between the Hofsjökull and Langjökull glaciers. While it is quite barren and some would say depressing, it is also rather beautiful, with vast stretches of land framed by the 2 glaciers. We stopped for an hour at Hveravellir, a remote site with thermal areas and a hot spring, where everyone, including the driver, can take a bath in the thermal pool if you wish!

Then on to Kerlingarfjöll, a group of mountains that you can see approaching in the distance for hours before you get there. The bus wound into a canyon for 7 miles, and dropped me at the group of huts along with assorted other tourists and backpackers. I checked in and started out on a hike recommended by the host, and what a hike it turned out to be… straight up into the mountains! I fortunately met up with a young German couple who had been on the bus, and hiked on with them, as the trail got alarmingly steep and slippery as we went on. Crossing a tiny bit of glacier, we arrived in a stunningly beautiful valley full of color, steaming vents and pools. It was a bit like a secret world tucked away where you would not guess it was there—a very special place. Five hours later we were back at the huts and I treated myself to Icelandic lamb soup at the mom and pop restaurant/hostel there. My A-frame hut was pretty comfy, made even better by the last of the Bailey’s that I brought along from Baer (thanks, Emma!).