336-Iceland Hidden Trails
Show notes
Iceland is a destination that you don’t tend to hear too much about when it comes to hiking so when Aussie hiker Sarah Groves contacted me late last year, I was keen to find out more. Over a 12 day period Sarah and her group hiked 160 km on some of Iceland’s Hidden Trails. In this podcast episode we talk with Sarah about her Icelandic adventure.
Podcast Overview
In this episode we discuss resolutions and hiking:
- Podcast Introduction (time index 00:01:33)
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- To help provide a bit of context, give us a bit of background on your hiking experience. (time index 00:02:07)
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- Now onto your Iceland Hidden Trails trip, how did you choose this trip? (time index 00:05:02)
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- First up give us a bit of an overview to this trip (time index 00:07:10)
- Distance
- Multiple trails or single trail?
- Trail tread
- Elevation changes across the trail
- Were there any steep sections or was it a similar gradient throughout your trip?
- First up give us a bit of an overview to this trip (time index 00:07:10)
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- Time of the year you did this walk and why (time index 00:13:34)
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- Vegetation (time index 00:14:52)
- When I picture Iceland, I think of open grasslands rather than forests. What’s was the vegetation profile like on this trail?
- Vegetation (time index 00:14:52)
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- Was there any animal life on this trail. Does Iceland have any wildlife or was it all ‘farm life’? (time index 00:16:15)
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- From a logistics perspective was this a professionally organised trip or a self-organised adventure? (time index 00:17:39)
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- How easy was it to get to the starting point of the trailhead ? (time index 00:22:00)
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- And getting to and from Iceland from Australia?
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- How easy was it to get to the starting point of the trailhead ? (time index 00:22:00)
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- Was this a ‘carry everything’ sort of trip or did you forward some gear to overnight locations? (time index 00:23:10)
- What were you carrying on a daily basis
- Sleeping bag?
- Temperatures night and day
- Was this a ‘carry everything’ sort of trip or did you forward some gear to overnight locations? (time index 00:23:10)
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- Gear generally (time index 00:26:28
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- What was your accommodation on this trip? (time index 00:27:23)
- Tents
- Huts / hotels
- Combination of both
- What was your accommodation on this trip? (time index 00:27:23)
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- Group size? (time index 00:28:44)
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- What did your typical day on this hike look like? (time index 00:29:29)
- How long was the day length?
- What was the people interaction like on this trip? (time index 00:33:56)
- What did your typical day on this hike look like? (time index 00:29:29)
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- What were the key highlights for you? (time index 00:35:24)
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- What sort of footwear did you use? (time index 00:36:15)
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- Food General (time index 00:37:12)
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- What, if any, were the negatives with this trip? (time index 00:39:09)
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- How did you find Iceland as a tourist destination? (time index 00:40:23)
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- After doing this walk who would you say it is suitable for? (time index 00:41:46)
One final question
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- What’s your next great hiking adventure? (time index 00:43:55)
Closing discussion from Tim and Gill
- Final thoughts (time index 00:44:59)
Close (time index 00:53:50)
Resources
- Sarah’s travel company for her trip
- Generic information about Iceland
Sarah full pack on the trail in Iceland
Brad and Sarah on one of many freezing river crossings
Soothing natural hot springs were a treat after a days hiking
Trail views always changing, spectacular and usually containing water
Hut example outside
Inside of hut
There are over 600 species of moss varieties in Iceland
Hut in the valley below the old lava field
A rhyolite ridge named the spine, the ridge formed due to rapid volcanic cooling of the stone
Wild blueberries
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