Day 15
As the day slowly dawned, I had breakfast and began sifting through the squalor of the tent. With a bit of sunshine, the site I had chosen looked a lot nicer the day before:
The route I had selected left the official path and headed through unmarked terrain up to a high plateau that would eventually lead to the next SOTA summit on route: TF/SL-112 Grænifjallgarður:
It was not so easy to get up to the ridge and I had to traverse a fair way north before finding a relatively easy way up. Eventually I attained a col with some nice lava formations nearby:
The way now lead through some really alien terrain: vast valleys filled with volcanic sand. I had to break off left into another huge valley to avoid a large gorge ahead:
It looked like I might finally get to activate something. When I got to summit there were clouds to the east spilling over the ridges but the breeze was light. To the west the view was awesome. The activation was definitely on:
Conditions were definitely picking up and I think I got about 8 contacts in the log this time. Having finally got some SOTA action, I headed happily down the east side to a lake and a nice stream where I could drink my fill of water. The way down the west side is not recommended:
It was a rather long stretch up the valley to the campsite at Langisjór, but getting there meant a real toilet on which one could sit, and a base from which to make summit attempts carrying only day gear; it was decided, the campsite it was. I got there around 15:30 with the sun still blazing in the sky:
There is no moss here to pitch on, only sand, much of which ends up on your sleeping bag during the night. However, things had taken a definite turn for the better and the forecast for the next day was unbelievably good.
The first night at lake Langisjór was quite cold and there was a strong inversion first thing in the morning. Langisjór, according to the information board, is a lake situated between hyaloclastite ridges formed during sub-glacial volcanic eruptions; got that? It is geologically a very young landscape. There are also 6 SOTA summits around the lake, 4 of them are still unactivated (after my activities), making Langisjór a prime target for a SOTA expedition. The lake is about 20 km long, making a round trip taking in all 4 remaining summits about 2-3 days in total.
I set off early as there is a 6 pointer just 3.5 km from the campsite: Hrútabjörg, TF/SL-087. The sun was blazing again and it was very hot on the western shore. This is probably the only part of Iceland where I have encountered biting insects. Annoying insects are still very abundant, but generally they don’t bite. The summit was easily reached in about an hour and the views were about the best I have ever seen:
Band conditions were also on the up and and up and I got about 20 stations in the log; even 2 on 40m, including Phil G4OBK. The weather was without doubt the finest I had experienced in Iceland so far, and I wasn’t missing Europe one bit:
I got back to the campsite early and decided to do some washing and have a rest. After checking on the map, it turned out I had done over 22 km the day before, which is far more than I intended. The wind at the campsite had died down and I didn’t get any sand on my quilt that night. It was not as cold as the previous night either.
73 de TF/OE6FEG/P
Matt
Hi Matt, nice to read about your preparation and updates here.
You made my day when I was activating SM/OG-001. Found you on 20 meter and you copied me right away. It was really a memorable QSO. I remember we sat and discussed tents and other equipment at the SOTA dinner during the hamfair in Friedrischafen.
73 Jaan, SM0OEK
Ha, I forgot to mention that in my update. Yes, fantastic to work you S2S from Iceland. Band conditions were relatively good on Thursday but I wasn’t expecting a S2S, brilliant! Thanks Jaan. I’ll do the last few updates in the coming days, I’m running out of charge at the moment.
73 de TF/OE6FEG/P
Matt
Having been pinned down in my tent for one day already due to bad weather, I thought it wise to start heading back to Landmannalaugar. Besides, there were plenty of summits to be tackled along the way. The closest of those was Grænifjallgarður TF/SL-091 just down the valley; I had already walked past it on Wednesday. The weather was again sunny and fine with only a breath of wind. The summit was easily reached by mid morning:
I had planned to head back down the valley and cross the ridge at the same place as I entered on Wednesday. But looking down to the west now, I saw a very easy way down onto the desert plateau just a kilometre or so down the ridge from where I was:
That meant not having to re-climb the ridge further down the valley. And with another 22km day ahead of me, that saving was very welcome. Once I got onto the western plateau the view back to Grænifjallgarður was amazing:
Finally, I was able to descend to a marshy area, pick up a 4x4 track and drink plenty of water. I had covered up as soon as I felt a tingle of sunburn on my knee, but it was too late, and my legs were now feeling quite sore under my trousers. I would never have expected to need suntan lotion in Iceland🥵. The track wound on and on; I couldn’t believe I had come so far on Wednesday morning, the km were really wearing on me now. Also, a cool breeze had blown up which I didn’t feel so much whilst I was moving, but as soon as I finally put the tent up, I started shivering uncontrollably. I got under my sleeping bag and began to gradually warm up. However, I also felt quite dizzy and weak. It seemed I had both sunstroke and mild hypothermia. I was too weak to cook that night, but I managed a bowl of muesli with some glucose around midnight, which made me feel much better.
Day 18
I got up early and started to pack up my gear; the muesli had revived me a great deal and I set off up Grænifjallgarður TF/SL-091, albeit quite slowly. The last time I tried to activate this peak the weather had been completely against me. This time, whilst there was a lot of orographic cloud blowing through at a low level, the wind was otherwise light and I was very optimistic that the activation would succeed this time. It did not take long to get to the top, which had a nice large flat area to set up on:
I got my gear out and eagerly began setting up. As has happened alot on this trip, my seat and walking pole (with the tuner attached) fell over and I had to go back and put more weight on it to keep it upright whilst I deployed the antenna. Unfortunately, when I sat down and began to tune the antenna, I noticed that it was completely flat no matter where the switches were. I opened up the Fuchskreis and saw that not one, but two connections had now broken; there would be no more activations on this trip. Whilst my soldering may not be the best, I found out when I got to England that the banana socket is actually made of steel, and this is why the connection is so bad there. When I start reworking the tuner in Austria, getting a socket that can be soldered will be another priority, along with a host of other reinforcements that I intend to make.
Anyway, I decended the mountain and set up camp in the same area I had camped on Monday night. I felt that a light day was in order after walking so far the day before, and it gave me a chance to get washed in the - not absolutely freezing - stream nearby.
Day 19
It was only 16km back to the campsite at Landmannalaugar, so I set off early hoping to find space in the huts there, if there were any huts with beds that is. As the campsite finally hove into view, I noticed the immense lava flow that came down from the mountains and stopped just where the camp was:
The Monday before I had been too close and heading in the wrong direction to notice how amazing the area was. Getting there early was a good idea, as I managed to get a bed in the huts for 2 nights. A bag of spagheti on the free food shelf and a jar of green pesto from the shop provided ample food during my stay. After the long days trekking through the volcanic desert in Vatnajökull, it was bliss to just chill out and relax in the hot springs next to the lava field. However, on the first day, my sunburn meant I had to be careful not to get to close to the hot water .
On Tuesday the 6th of August I got the bus back to Reykjavik and flew back to England early on the 7th, where the weather is not nearly as nice as it was in Iceland, humphh. So, that’s it for this travellogue. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it and enjoyed the photos. I also hope it has given other SOTA activatiors lots of ideas for expeditions of their own. I always say, fast and light is the way to go, and I think 7 first activations for just one guy and a tent is pretty good going. Good luck to you all, whatever your adventure.
73 es SK de M/OE6FEG/P
Matt
PS. I will be getting a new English callsign in the near future.
Matt, it has been a pleasure reading about your hiking, struggles and sometimes low number of QSO. But I think you gained a lot of experiences and memories you can bring out when you look in the mirror.
Cheers!
Jaan
Thank you Matt for a great report and much inspiration for SOTA operators. I will be travelling to Iceland over 21 - 26 August this year with my SOTA kit (Yaesu FT-817 and EFHW). I am very motivated to activate some peaks having seen your photos and read your report above.
73
Rob
VE3RXH
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