Adventurer Alastair Humphreys and photographer Chris Herwig completed an epic traverse of Iceland this past July that offered up everything you could hope for in a long distance backpacking expedition, and then some. The journey began in Akureyri, located in the northern part of the country, and ended in the Westman Islands, located off of Iceland’s southeast coast, with most of the hundreds of miles crossed on foot and with the use of pack raft.
Although the adventure was completed back in July, Alastair has just begun sharing the experience on his blog, with several great entries already up. He kicked off his coverage of the journey with this entry, which details their pre-departure pursuit of wine, women, and food, before donning their 40kg (88 pound) packs and beginning the hike south. The second entry in the Iceland series has the duo moving into the infamous Icelandic high-lands, which are so inhospitable, that NASA used the region as a training ground for missions to the Moon. At that point of the hike, the boys were dealing with lots and lots of rain, and pretty much every piece of their gear was soaked. The third, and most recent entry, shares the details of their first foray onto the glaciers, which brought a whole host of new challenges to the expedition.
So far, Alastair is sharing a story per week on the expedition, and I have to say that it is fun and refreshing to read. While I always enjoy reading dispatches from the field, these well thought out, and written, stories offer a reflection and insight that only comes after an expedition is complete. The series is definitely worth reading, and I’m already looking forward to more.
Alastair is no stranger to the world of adventure. His previous exploits have seen him riding his bike around the world over a 4-year time span, covering 46,000 miles in the process. He has also hiked through India, sailed the Atlantic, run the Marathon de Sables, and canoed the Yukon, amongst a number of other very cool adventures.
To find out more about Alastair and the Iceland Expedition, check out this interview with him today over at Explorers Web.
- Gear Review: The Xero Scrambler Mid is an Ultralight Hiking Shoe for Spring - March 1, 2023
- Gear Review: Yeti Roadie 48 Wheeled Cooler - August 18, 2022
- Kristin Harila Continues Pursuit of 8000-Meter Speed Record - August 16, 2022
