The Great Outdoors - UK (2021-08)

THE WIND WHISTLEDlightly through
the coarse sea grass above our heads.
Wewere lying on a beach on Iceland’s
Honstrandir peninsula at the end of a
successful backpacking tripwith myold
student hiking group, next to a small,
singular timber building once knownas
Heysteri’sOld Post Office. Our bellies were
full of pancakes and copious amounts
of sticky homemade rhubarb jam, and a
feeling ofcontentmentwas ebbing its way
around ourbodies.
Twoweeks of hiking through Icelandic
wilderness, from the darkand foreboding
lands of the barrensouthto the verdant
alpine meadows of the Hornstrandir
peninsula in theWestords,had meanta
constantreadjustment to our surroundings
everyday.
Looking out over the majestic
expanse ofgreen and blue, soiconically
representative of the Westords, a familiar
feeling rose up – that need to capture
the moment. But when I reached for my
camera in itstatty dry-bag, I felta counter-
instinct raise its head. Did I really need to
document every experience?

NORTH AND SOUTH
It was June 2017. e weather was
favouring us with generous sunshine, and
lots of it: 24 hours everyday for the past
six days. Wehad been lucky.e Icelandic

weathergods can becruel and bring

extremes ofrain, hail, cold temperatures

and high waters. at could have easily

marred our dreamlike six-day backpacking

journey onthe Hornstrandir peninsula, the

highlight of the overall trip, to something

more akin to Scottish ‘type two’ fun

(somethingthat isn’tfun at the time,

but seems so in retrospect!).

e start ofour adventure in

Hornstrandir sawus taking a domestic

flight from the centreof Reykjavík toreach

Ísaörður. Wecollected our rucksacks with

bemusement from a tinyhole in the wall

at the domestic airport, where the baggage

handlers werevisible loading through a flap

in the wall. Our expeditionto the peninsula

got off to an exciting start. Clad in protective

fluorescent yellow jackets, we boarded a RIB

boat and exitedthe tinyIcelandic village,

dodging past puffins taking flight. A young

humpback whale stole our attentionwith its

rearingtail and spray.

Pushing the boat onshore to reach

Lónaörður, our first views were of the

peninsula’sgrassy banks. e snow-

topped mountains opposite seemed to

rise steeply fromthe sea, fiercely imposing

and intimidatingdespite being no more

than 500m high. Beyond us was a vast,

undulating volcanic plateau, its underlying

strata formed a mere 350 years ago,criss-

crossed by rivers and populatedby

[previous spread] Looking back across the magnificent peaks on the undulating terrain

[above] Landing at Lónafjörður, with the RIB in the background [right] Chasing the midnight sun

• or midnight loo stop!

60 The Great OutdoorsAugust 2021