BorealHiker

At the end of the week I head to Iceland for two weeks. This trip has been a long time coming and I am looking forward to it. The trip is in two main chunks, after a couple days to see Reykjavik, I am going hiking in the volcanic hills of central Iceland. After this I will meet up with a friend and drive around the island nation. It should be a lot of fun.

Here are the details:

After flying into Reykjavik I will enjoy a couple days in the capital of Iceland before heading out to Landmannlauger. I spend two days at this site. One day to explore with a day hike and enjoy the hot springs before starting on the Laugavegur trek. I took my itinerary from a G Adventures trip that I decided not to join. Day one will be the hardest with a 24k segment ending in Alftavatn. Day two and three are both 15k each going further on the Trek to Emstrur and ending in Porsmork. I wasn’t certain about buses from Skogar in mid-September so will try to hike to one of the glaciers as a day hike and return to Posrmork. The next morning I will return to Reykjavik to start my second week.

The second half I will take on with my friend Angela. We will rent a car and drive around the island clockwise. It will be a quick trip going from Reykjavik to Akureyri. Day two take us by the Lake Myvatn region before ending up on the east coast village of Borgarfjordur. Day three follows the east coast with an endpoint of Hofn in the Southeast. The second last day is a shorter trek to Vik with a hopeful look at the southern end glaciers I will see from the north while on the Laugavegur trek. One final section by car returns us to Reykjavik.

One last night in the capital and my adventure in Iceland will be over. I am looking forward to these two weeks!

A little over a decade ago I lived outside of Smithers, British Columbia. I went on a hike with a local business owner up to the peak of Hudson Bay Mountain. I recall him mentioning that this was his favourite local hike and one that he tried to do multiple times each summer.

This idea has inspired me to seek out scenic and challenging hikes near to where I live to take advantage of where ever I lived. In La Ronge, Saskatchewan, where I currently live the most common day hike I take advantage of is the Nut Point trail. On a 15 kilometre rocky outcrop of land stretching out from the Nut Point campground in the Lac La Ronge Provincial Park, the trail stretches up and down small hills with glimpses of Lac La Ronge or McGibbon Bay and down into boggy valleys. .

Shorter hikes to the Mallard Fire Interpretive Trail or Downton Lake can be taken in the first couple kilometres of the trail. I prefer to go a bit further and do a three to four hour return trip to the Nut Portage if I don’t want to go a bit longer. For me this is my typical weekend activity if I am looking for a solid afternoon of hiking. With a return distance of around 14.8 kilometres it is challenging but very achievable.

I have walked the 30.6 kilometres of the point and back in one day but would not recommend this as it is quite gruelling. Winds and storms have often blown down trees along the trail, making finding paths around fallen objects, through brush and muskeg, necessary. The hike to the point is rewarding as an open area looking out onto Lac La Ronge makes for a comfortable camping spot or lunch spot. Breaking this up over two days makes for a more relaxed and enjoyable experience of the Nut Point trail.

I decided to start a blog out of personal interest in tracking my experiences hiking. Living in Northern Saskatchewan provides me with many opportunities to get outdoors, but my interest is not solely in local activities. Part of my interest is in documenting my experience hiking the Landmannlauger Trek in Iceland in September 2017.

About me: I am a 42 year old who lives in La Ronge, Saskatchewan, who got into more seriously hiking in my thirties. I have always been active and enjoyed short hikes or walks, but the idea of exploring longer day hikes and multi-day trips led me to look more seriously into different trips I could take.

This has taken me to seek local, Canadian, and international opportunities to explore nature by seeking trails and treks to hike. I hope to document and share my experiences with these hikes.