In late 2014 I received a message from a hiker I had met earlier that year on the Pacific Crest Trail. He was planning a trip to Iceland and was wondering if I would be interested - it didn't take much convincing for me to join the team. The original plan was to traverse the country from north to south, but when we arrived to find the highest levels of lingering snow in 80 years our plans quickly changed. We still enjoyed nearly a month of hiking in some of the most otherworldly terrain I've ever seen. I tried to capture the experience in the short video below, and also created a breakdown of our route and my budget. Iceland has a reputation for being expensive but backcountry travel is relatively cheap.
​
Iceland hiking video below.
By the Numbers
​
Distance Hiked: roughly 300 miles
When: June 19 - July 16
Number of Hikers in our Group: 6
Number of Countries Represented in our Group: 5
Hours of Darkness: 0
Longest Hiking Day: ~20 miles cross-country over rugged lava rock and sand
Longest Travel Day: 10 miles hiked and 200+ mile hitchhike across the south coast with multiple tourist stops
River Crossings That Required Wading: Several, in near-freezing glacial meltwater
Waterfalls: Too many to count
Iceland Coast to Coast Hiking Info:
​
​
