Highland in a Nutshell?

Kaldidalur

Iceland, July 2014: Part 1 of 5

The 20km walk along the gravel road towards Húsafell was not boring. Here the lively icelandic horses...

Stormy weather with some raindrops and dramatic clouds above the foothills of the shield volcano OK

Meeting of the rivers Hvítá (clear headstream) and Geitá (glacial river).

In Húsafell we spent the whole day in the tent as it rained a lot. In the evening it got a bit better so we started to head for Kaldidalur at around midnight...

...but the weather was still rainy. The Geitlandsrhaun looked bleak and abandoned in this gloomy atmosphere.

Lambáfoss, where we camped for the rest of the night.

Dýragras (Gentiana nivalis, Snow Gentian, Schnee-Enzian)

We followed the busy Kaldidalur road for quite a long time. The fresh snow on the mountains reminds on the bad weather the days before.

The slopes of OK come to an abruptly halt with a cliff that descends to the headwaters of the river Geitá.

Pathless walking towards the Þórisdalur. A glacial tongue of the northwestern Þórisjökull in the distance.

Towards Þórisdalur. Prestahnúkur with its distinct coloured Rhyolithic rocks can be seen on the left side.

Geldingahnappur (Armeria maritima, Marsh Daisy, Strand-Grasnelke)

Prestahnúkur and a tiny dot of Lambagrass

We seemed to have luck for our upcoming hike through the Þórisdalur. The weather got better again in the morning.

The "cold valley" Kaldidalur is widely called the Little Highland. Easy to drive through for 4x4 beginners to get a first insight of the interior. But that's to simple. The Kaldidalur is as unique as its big brothers Kjalvegur and Sprengisandur and well worth a longer visit. But indeed it is a very compact area.

The woodland (or better bushland) around Húsafell, where the Kaldidalsvegur route begins on its northwestern end, seems to be a hidden treasure. Definitely worth a longer stay. For us it was just a starting point to reach higher ground. A starting point to where we had to walk more than 20km from Reykholt as no public transport goes there. A heavy storm blew us nearly away from the roadside and a friendly icelandic family gave us a lift for the last three kilometers to the campsite, at 00:30 in the night. Thanks for that! By this we "lost" the well known Hraunfossar. Not the best start for the long trekk to the Kerlingarfjöll...

Route: Reykholt - Reykjadalsá - Húsafell Campsite - Lambáfoss - Kaldidalur - Geitá - Þórisdalur

2/5 >>>

Highland in a Nutshell?

Kaldidalur

Picture of the Month