Öskjuvegur

"I have been in many lonely places in my life, the great pine forests of Northern Russia, the immense plains of Central Asia, the watery wastes of the Atlantic, the arid deserts of Persia, but none to equal the desolation and absolute lifelessness of that scene in Askja."

E. Delmar Morgan: Excursion to Askja, August 1881

Normally the marked trail follws the northern caldera wall of Askja between Jónsskarð to the parking area below the Biskup cliff. Instead we walked south along the western inner caldera wall towards Trölladyngjuskarð and Suðurskarð where we finally pitched our good old Staika*. This is a route across sometimes very difficult to walk lava fields and definitely not recommended for first time travellers to Askja! From Suðurskarð we circumnavigated the Öskjuvatn halfway on hollow sounding pumice deposits from 1875 and arrived at the crowded Víti crater. From there we followed the dirt track to Drekagil. From the Dreki huts (more like a small village nowadays) we made another "short" detour to the new Holuhraun lava field and the Skinandi waterfall.

*| It is forbidden to camp inside the Askja caldera! We set up camp outside of the caldera south of the pass Suðurskarð.

"It was curious to find oneself, 4000 feet above sea-level, near the Arctic circle, and surrounded by snow and ice, in so warm a spot, with more risk of being boiled than frozen"

E. Delmar Morgan: Excursion to Askja, August 1881