Exmoor Exploits

After a weekend in the Forest of Dean it was time to head straight to Exmoor. I had a week of walk leading with HF Holidays from their house near Selworthy in Somerset. The house is owned by the National Trust and its extensive estate is managed by the Trust from the Estate Office in the grounds.

Holnicote House, Selworthy, Somerset

A bit of running & cycling

Arriving the Sunday night provided me with the opportunity to go for an early run up to Selworthy village on Monday before breakfast. Afterwards I went for a ride on the bike around the winding lanes and came out just beyond the 'honey-pot' village of Dunster. A quite tour of Minehead brought back memories of childhood holidays and then the long drag back to the house along the A39. Over the week I managed a couple of runs and on Friday before driving home I took the bike out to Porlock. There was no way I was going to tackle the infamous Porlock Hill on the A39, but I did take the toll road up. This winds on and on at a progressive steady incline. Halfway up is the toll booth and a compulsory stop to pay the £1 fee, before continuing ever upwards! This is mostly through woods, so near the top the winds hit you as you leave the relative shelter of the trees. A quick ride through the Exmoor lanes was interesting, although lots of downs, most roads were rather winding and impossible to safely assess what could be coming the other way. Hopefully the Porlock toll road hill will go some way to prepare me for the Prudential Ride London 100 miler on 2 August. Although I'm not sure whether this will help with Sunday's 10K race at Luton.

Guided walks around Exmoor

Taking in the view

As this was a midweek break I only had three walks to lead this week. As usual we divided up the walks fairly between us and explained the walks the night before to the guest for them to make a choice. The first days walk was out from the house to Dunster, by late morning we had reached Wooton Courtney and the steep hills become excessively so. This caused problems for some and required careful management of the group. Once we reached the ridge it was more or less downhill gradually to Dunster and the cream teas many were busy planning. As the threatened rain hit us in the woods, somewhere dry to wait our transport back was necessary.

Landacre Bridge

A harder walk on the Wednesday took us across a more remote part of Exmoor. Our route started east of Exford, which we reached in time for a quick coffee stop and a chance to remove layers. The day started wet, but was rapidly becoming warm & muggy. the route took us onto Withypool and finished at Simonsbath. A very varied route with a wide range of habitats to see, but a tight schedule to meet our transport at the end of the walk.

Heading to Lymouth

The final walk of the week was a coastal one from east of Countisbury and then following mostly the South West Coast Path to Lynmouth. A gentle paced walk with plenty of time to enjoy the scenery and see some of the birds, including Stonechat's. Another hot and sunny day with plenty of sea breeze.

Although I've walked a lot around this part of North Devon & Somerset, it was my first visit to the house. A very welcoming stay & excellent facilities (food & accommodation). definitely a house to revisit.

Forest of Dean wanderings

Dorm accommodation
in one of the round towers

Before heading off to spend a week walking, running & cycling on the North Exmoor (Somerset) coast, we spent a fantastic weekend in the Forest of Dean celebrating friends joint 50th birthday. They had hired the hostel St Briavels Castle, which was once a hunting lodge for King John. Although a youth hostel it is also managed by English Heritage so the grounds can be visited, but you need to stay at the hostel to see its interior.

St Briavels Castle

A very hilly area for running, but I managed an easy pace run on Saturday before we all headed off for a group 8 mile wander through the countryside. With such a large group this was always going to be a challenge and there were several interesting points en-route where no one seemed to know where the route was. Or rather there were differences of opinion, nevertheless we all completed the route and found a communal space to have our lunch. An enjoyable walk in the warm sunshine.  

A quick afternoon visit to meet our niece who is visiting from Vietnam, where she is working, saw us enjoy the afternoon sun at the Old Ferry Inn. Lots of people on the river, where a large part of our group would be heading on Sunday. The evening was spent drinking, chatting and listening to the Jazz band.

Sunday a group of 10 hardy cyclists prepared to set off for a 50 mile ride. However, by the time we actually got into the saddle this was whittled down to just four of us! Nevertheless, we set off with high hopes until the rain had completely soaked us. Time for an early coffee stop in Tintern, where despite the return of the sun the consensus was to return. A hilly return left me waiting for the others where I ended up chatting to a lady sitting on her garden wall. It turned out she was a previous youth hostel warden at Knighton (now closed it seems). She had lots of interesting stories about the old days. After awhile I cycled back to find the others finishing repairs to one of the bikes.

The weekend finished with a relaxing time at The George Inn, with a drink and a pint while the sun shone down on us. Next stop Selworthy & Exmoor National Park.

An Icelandic Saga: trekking around Skaftafell - Scene 1

After a week traveling with Sophie around part of Iceland (see earlier post), it was now time to explore a smaller part of it in more detail. The route that caught my attention was one offered by the Icelandic company Trek. This was 'Trek 32: Laki to Skaftafell' a nine day trek through part of Vatnajökull National Park, in an area characterised as being extremely wild and quiet. It was possible to do the first five days or the last five, because of this we would have the opportunity of restocking our food. Otherwise we needed to be self sufficient by carrying all our food and equipment.

The start of the trek

The trek started with an early morning pick up from central Reykjavik for two of us, while the others had arranged to be picked up from their hotels/hostels around the city. Our first port of call was the Trek warehouse where we collected tents, food, stoves and gas. There were 12 of us representing many parts of the world, from Canada & America to Japan, with Britain, France, Austria & India in between. As we boarded the bus that was to drive us out to our start point just beyond Kirkjubæjarklaustur on the main highway encircling the island, we learnt that the route had been changed. The bad winter and late thaw meant there was still plenty of snow in the mountains and that a group a week or so earlier had to abort their trek due to the unseasonal conditions.

Part 1: Þverá to Kirkjubæjarklaustur via Laki (64.1 miles)

With only 5 of us intending to do the full nine day trek an alternative route was offered which enabled us to reach Kirkjubæjarklaustur by day 5. The bus dropped us just off the main road on a track that led to Þverá, from here we were on our own as we headed north-west to Laki, the dormant volcano before turning south to Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The route followed a gravel track, as Iceland is a fragile environment it is important to minimise the impact of travellers.

The route took us steadily upwards and we began to see evidence of the late thaw. The track was becoming a channel for the water and we got our first taste of water crossings. These were relatively minor though in comparison with what was to come.

The first of many water crossings

Our walking day started at 12.30pm and continued on until 7pm. By this time we had reached a mountain hut below Miklafell, as it had been raining for some time there was a strong temptation in the group to seek shelter there. Instead we pitched our tents and prepared our evening meal. The problem of being a gluten-free vegetarian was to become a serious issue as the trek progressed and the first nights meal was in hindsight a foretaste of what was to come. But more on this later

The next morning it became clear that we would be down to 11 and another was wavering. Thankfully he was persuaded to continue and I think he really got a lot from the experience. Luckily a good off-road vehicle could get to the hut to collect our departing team member who had damaged his back before the trek started and carrying a 20kg or so pack did him no favours.

Our second day continued the upward climb, and soon we had crossed the snowline. Most of the day saw us traipsing through deep snow and crossing several rivers. We found the first river that required wadding across and we all donned our shoes brought along specially for such occasions. Other times we were able to use the surviving snow bridges and as we crossed one a large crack could be heard inches away!

This was a tough day, hindered by the energy zapping snow, but we found a suitable camp spot below Laki from which we would walk to the top in the morning. The visibility today was poor and at times very limited. With the temperature plunging everyone had gone to bed by 8.30pm as there is little else to do in such conditions.

Our campsite below Laki

After a lashing of rain throughout the night, the morning was bright, clear and dry. After breakfast we struck camp and left our packs beside our campsite and walked unencumbered to the summit of Laki. This dormant volcano last erupted with devastating effect in June 1783. The river crossing here was possible thanks to a snow bridge. Soon we were above the snowline and with the clear skies we had excellent visibility of the vastness of this small part of the National Park.

 

On summit of Laki

Heading back down from Laki

Collecting our packs we were now on the route south to   Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Still traipsing through thick snow we traversed the various hills and eventually reached the biggest river to date. The width of the river Hellisa meant that we needed to carefully select our route across. While not overly deep we did strip down to our underwear to avoid getting our clothes too wet. With several islands we took a carefully selected route from point to point as we zig-zagged our way across. While not exactly fun due to the freezing water temperature, it was vastly preferable to my February experience of getting my group through a pond at chest depth in sub-zero temperatures!

Preparing for the river crossing

Crossing the river

After drying off we continued walking, finally setting up camp after the next river crossing. This was our first evening where we could actually sit out chatting as it was relatively warm and dry.

Our campsite day 3

Communal cooking

Day 4 turned out to be our longest, although we were not fully aware of this as we arose for breakfast. The snow gradually petered out during the day and by lunchtime we were once again below the snowline. We also saw our first vehicles of the entire trip.

Ooh a small river, can I cross please

During our lunch break we had a look at the spectacular Fagrifoss waterfall. This was made more special by the fact we had trekked here and had it to ourselves. After lunch we had another wide river crossing, but not as bad as the previous days. More followed through the afternoon, but the group was well experienced by this stage. 

Fagrifoss

The decision was made to keep going so we could reach  Kirkjubæjarklaustur rather than camp beside the  track. This meant we would be covering 22 miles in a 11 hour walking day! Not necessarily a choice everyone agreed with, but for those continuing it did offer the possibility of drying out clothes and more importantly our boots.

As we reached the edge of town three of us ran the last 500  metres or so to the service station. As this operated a basic food service several  members of the group stayed to eat. Others went straight to the campsite. 

Nearly there?

The next phase of our trek would start in earnest the next day, well before it gets dark!

Our walks plotted on Open Source Mapping for Iceland
Part 1 is the red route on the left of the map

_______________________________
Since March I have been undertaking my Tanzania Challenge to cover the equivalent distance between London and Dar es Salaam (6,614 miles) and this trek contributed 106.5 miles to this total. During my time in Iceland (19 days) I walked and ran a total of 244.6 miles! If anyone fancies sponsoring me in my bid to raise funds for Raleigh International why not visit my Justgiving fundraising page.

An Icelandic Saga: trekking around Skaftafell - Scene 2

So the first unexpected part of our trek was over and it was time to consider getting back on schedule.

Part 2: Innribrekkur to Grænalón (& back) (28.3 miles)

Day 5 became a bit of a rest day and gave time to dry out wet boots before heading back into the mountains. A large part of the group were heading back to Reykjavik today as they were only booked for the first part of the trek. In there place two new members were joining us & furthering the international flavour of the team. With the new arrivals more food was due to arrive, but this was more limited than what was offered at the warehouse on Day 1. Lesson learnt here, stock up at the start just in case!

Around 6.30pm our transport out to Innribrekkur arrived, this was a rather ancient adapted minibus of sorts which would take the gravel track out to our start point and importantly safely across the Nupsa river and its myriad to tributaries rushing out to join the sea. Our packs were put in a trailer which bobbed up and down as we crossed the fast flowing waters. With water filling the footwells of the bus there was some concern over the state of our belongings in the trailer. Thankfully, only minor seepage appeared to be an issue.

Dropping off point on day 5

Iceland does have trees you can get lost in after all

Heading out 

Don't look down

Although we had a late start, we still needed to make some progress, so quickly set off along the rough track along the hillside. For some this was the first real challenge, excluding the river crossings. After around three miles we reached the sheer wall with an antiquated but serviceable chain running down its face. The only option was to climb the wall and our guide made the first ascent using the chain and then set up the belay rope for added safety.

Going up the chain

The view from above - safely belayed

The ascent was obviously time consuming as each person donned a harness and made their way up the wall with the aid of the chain and belay rope. It was a great experience to make the ascent with a full pack on my back and the time spent on an indoor wall proved useful. Finally once we were all on the plateau above and rope and harness were safely stowed in the packs we headed off to locate a suitable campsite. This was not too far away and while attempting to cook my meal, I realised the issue that was going to face me for the remainder of the trek - lack of an adequate evening meal.

On top looking for suitable campsites

The following day we were heading for Grænalón which on the map is marked as a glacial lagoon. We were told that it had largely dried out in recent years and that only glacial streams flow through it. This was a day that would challenge most of the group to some extent.

Again there were river/stream crossings and in one of the easier ones that involved stone hopping I managed to slip and get a bit wet. A quick change of trousers (yes I overpacked) and we were off again. It was to rain later, so a change into the Paramo's was not necessarily a bad thing.

Before lunch we had to make our way to the top of Sléttur a rather barren mountain top. To reach it we had to progress up a steep rocky hillside which consisted of more scree than vegetation. With careful footing this was a great way to summit our first top. For some this was a challenge, but wise words from our experienced French Alpine member helped them to achieve what might at times have felt the impossible.

traversing the steep hillside

Onwards & upwards on the scree path

the final pull to the top of Sléttur

Before long we were back above the snowline and made our way onwards. The areas not covered in snow proved to be a mixture of water, rock chippings and the beginnings of soil - not an ideal surface and any sunken footprints would remain for a long time! Finally the lagoon basin came into sight, as did the Grænafjall mountains on the far side - our hoped for overnight before tackling the Skeiðarárjökull glacier the following day.

Nupsa upper valley

Look I can cross this on one foot!

More snow!

Descending to the basin we could see several glacial rivers that needed to be crossed. The first was reasonably straight-forward & we rapidly donned our river shoes to get through its icy waters. Once across we reached a large area of raised black sand, once across we could see the next river crossing. It soon became evident that this would be the greatest challenge to date. From above it was possible to make out the speed of flowing water in its central channel was going to be a major obstacle. Our guide's assessment when he made his way down to the river was that its depth and flow speed was too great.

Scaling the sand bank

Testing the waters

With no other way across we retreated to the banks of the first lagoon river and pitched tents for the night. There was a somewhat optimistic hope that in the morning things would be different. Just from the sound of the water it was possible to tell that nothing had changed when we awoke. Added to this we now had good visibility across the Skeiðarárjökull glacier to  Skaftafellsfjöll mountains, which shrouded in their white winter coat did not look inviting.

Camping between the rivers

With no way forward, we spent the day back-tracking our route. Through the snow it was easy to see where we had been the previous day and in order to reach Innribrekkur 'beach' we had to carefully make our way down the rocky scree lined ravine below Sléttur, across the same rivers (no slipping this time) and abseil down the rock face aided by rope and chain. This aspect was much quicker than the ascent, no doubt aided by gravity pulling on our still heavy packs.

Back across the river

This looks familiar

Nupsarfoss

What goes up it seems must come down again

It wasn't long to wait for the 'rescue' and this time it was a much newer superjeep that turned up. The ride back was interesting, especially when the front left wheel went over a large boulder in the river and we all lurched to the right mid stream! Once back on the highway we headed straight to Skaftafell National Park campsite to complete our trip.

A modern SuperJeep to the rescue

Skaftafell campsite

The next phase of the trek can be read in Scene 3

Our walks plotted on Open Source Mapping for Iceland

Part 2 is the pale blue route marked in the middle of the map

_______________________
Since March I have been undertaking my Tanzania Challenge to cover the equivalent distance between London and Dar es Salaam (6,614 miles) and this trek contributed 106.5 miles to this total. During my time in Iceland (19 days) I walked and ran a total of 244.6 miles! If anyone fancies sponsoring me in my bid to raise funds for Raleigh International why not visit my Justgiving fundraising page.

An Icelandic Saga: trekking around Skaftafell - Scene 3

After traversing through the mountains in part 1, we finally found a river that could not safely be crossed in part 2 of the trek. Consequently, we entered a new and unplanned phase of the trek.

Part 3: In Iceland expect the unexpected (14.15 miles)

So the weather defeated us at every stage, it caused a change in route for the beginning of the trek and brought the second part to a complete full stop. In order to make the most of the early arrival at Skaftafell (we had expected to walk here on day 8) we had a hike up from the campsite to Kristinatindar. Unfortunately, due to ice the upper path was officially closed so we made do with contouring around below the summit. The views into the mountains and glaciers were spectacular and we were able to identify the route we would have made given better weather conditions earlier in the year.

Svartifoss

Admiring the view

The final day saw us go out to a nearby glacier and at least put the crampons we'd carried on the trek to good use. Although not exactly what I had envisaged when signing up for the trek, it at least went some way to compensating for our disappointment.

After the arrival of our Reykjavik bound minibus, we took a detour out to Glacier Lagoon to look at the 'icebergs' (large chunks of glacial ice) floating there and those fragments that were making their way out to sea. Evidence of the melting ice and also our guide had pointed out how far back the glacier we visited had retreated within his living memory.

Glacier Lagoon

Glacier Lagoon

Our guide - Hörður

The final task was unloading the group kit at the Trek warehouse and collecting our luggage. Then we were dropped off at our hotels/hostels to enjoy the comforts of a soft bed & curtains to block out the never ending daylight. I had one final da in Reykjavik before flying home and made a brief visit to Viðey a small island opposite the city. This provided a peaceful and easy walk and opportunity to see the Imagine Peace Tower, which is illuminated between the birth and death dates of John Lennon (9 October to 8 December) and at New Year.

Our walks plotted on Open Source Mapping for Iceland
Part 3 is the dark brown routes marked on the right of the map

The problem of the gluten-free vegetarian!

This trek was to prove the limitations of Icelandic trekking food and the ability of the company to adequately plan ahead. While the other team members had access to dried food designed for treks such as ours, I was given bulky gluten-free pasta and gluten-free packets of soup. these were low in calories but high in carbohydrates and little else in terms of balanced diet. That these took three times as long to cook as everyone else's food meant I needed to hog a stove for the entire evening!

With the promise of restocking when we changed team members at the half-way point I had hopes for something better. Sadly the supplies were rather limited and completely neglected vegetarians and gluten-free vegetarians. Luckily we had access to a nearby supermarket, but beyond gluten-free bread and biscuits the rest of the shop was out of bounds. I managed to find some rice, but on site this never reached the point of being edible despite boiling for over an hour. The only addition was the remains of the soup packets!

At Skaftafell we received a special food delivery from the Reykjavik office, but again little thought was given to gluten-free vegetarians. True there was bread and biscuits, but these only go so far. There was something in plastic that even our guide had no idea what it was, let alone what was in it. So my experience of this trek was seriously marred by the complete lack of thought given to my requirements, despite paying a surcharge for the 'privilege' of being a gluten-free vegetarian.

To be fair to the company on my return to England the owner phoned me to personally apologise and explain what happened. He wasn't offering this as an excuse and I genuinely believe this is unlikely to happen again with this company in the foreseeable future. It does however make me wary of blithe promises by such companies and I may be forced to bring my own supplies with me next time. I will need to make sure I'm covered during the Tanzania treks next year.

Final thoughts

It took 30 years to get to Iceland and I'm glad I finally made it. The first part of the trip with Sophie enabled us to explore and enjoy a small part of this fascinating island. The second part, while not exactly as I had hoped was still a great experience. It has given me the confidence to consider coming back and doing my own treks as with my experience and mountain leading qualifications I could handle most of what this trek threw at us. The final point is that I have much to take forward for my treks through Tanzania next Summer. Especially to never take things for granted and always have a back-up plan when you have dietary issues.

___________________________________
Since March I have been undertaking my Tanzania Challenge to cover the equivalent distance between London and Dar es Salaam (6,614 miles) and this trek contributed 106.5 miles to this total. During my time in Iceland (19 days) I walked and ran a total of 244.6 miles! If anyone fancies sponsoring me in my bid to raise funds for Raleigh International why not visit my Justgiving fundraising page.