Hiking 60 Miles Alone on Laugavegur Fimmvörðuháls in Iceland

3 days backpacking alone in the Highlands of Central Iceland

During my third visit to Iceland, I attempted the Laugavegur hike but decided to bail about 5 miles into the hike. The weather was terrible with freezing rain which attacked me sidewise from strong wind. The Forecast didn’t promise any improvement so I doubled back and returned to Reykjavik a bit defeated. I knew I would return to hike this world famous trail that I’ve heard so much about.

In the Summer of 2022 I returned back to Iceland for the fourth time and as soon as I saw a forecast of sunny weather for at least 2-3 days, I jumped at the opportunity to attempt the Laugavegur hike again. I decided to include the additional day hiking past Thórsmörk on the Fimmvörðuháls trail. Day one has geothermal steam popping out of rolling tan hills. Day two is practically a moonwalk. Day three brings you up through volcanic rich green canyons up and over a pass between two massive glaciers. So on July 12, I set off, hiked the two sections and made this video about my experience:

• Good: Unique landscape, hut to hut hike through wilderness, low elevation, exceptional trail maintenance, straightforward transportation to and from trailheads, credit cards accepted

• Bad: Iceland is expensive, water crossings can be difficult, weather is un-predictable, crowded with tourists

Average weather for Iceland

To get to the trailhead, I took a 3-hour bus from BSI Terminal to Landmannalaugar. I used a Hiker Pass from Reykjavik Excursions. I used this Alltrails map downloaded with my iPhone on airplane mode to navigate the trail.

Walking on this black volcanic dirt was like being on the Moon

I packed a few ramen noodle packets, protein bars, Twix bars and cashews but bought food/drinks at most every hut. There was plenty of water everywhere to filter and drink. Bathrooms were at every hut. Wifi was pretty easy to steal at the Thórsmörk Volcano Hut. You can view the complete list of hiking and filmmaking gear that I used on this trip.