LAVA COME DOWN SOFT AND HOT!!!
We were not early breakfast and the hotel breakfast area was just a bit calmer.
We are excited as I have been checking the Iceland Fagradalsfjall Geldingadalir (DON’T EVEN ASK HOW IT IS PRONOUNCED) Volcano forecast and web cams. IT IS ACTIVE!!!! LETS GO.
We have our backpacks filled with water, food, extra clothes, 1st aid kits, camera gear and more. The intrepid volcano searchers head out to find lunch before the 1300hrs meeting time. I figure a hot dog is the way to go for fortitude.
We had arranged a volcano tour with Reykjavik Excursions. I was a bit worried it would be a large group which had to stick together. It was not, it was a bus ride with a guide to the volcano parking lot. The ride out and back were narrated with info on the sights we were seeing along the route. Once at the parking lot it was time to hit the trail.
There were trails A and B until a recent lava flow closed one of them. Currently the view of the cone is best from Trail C. Suggested times for the various sections of Trail C were as follows - 40 minutes will get you to end of the current lava fields. It is abut 1:45 min to the observation ridge where you can see the crater. The first part to the lava field terminal is relatively flat. The hike up the ridge to the observation points will take 1:30.
Yes, it is steep and there is a lot of loose rock on the trail. Limited switchbacks. On the way down I slipped onto my butt twice and Lynn did the same once. Hiking poles are advised. We had plenty of supplies and clothes etc. We could have consumed more water but were OK. The wind did pick up and I would say was blowing at 35-45 MPH. (Hey we are from Wyoming and we know our wind speeds)
When we reached the observation ridge, the volcano was tossing out lava, stopping for an occasional 5 min break before starting up again. Yes you can hear and smell the eruption. We pulled out our wind gear and warm hats before we started to click pictures. Glad we had that gear for sure. During our time there observing, the clouds started to lower and the wind picked up. Smoke started to fill the higher areas of activity. We had not stopped at the lava field terminal so made our way there. Really interesting Lava is.
There was a SAR vehicle there ready to go rescue the fools who were walking on the lava fields. Ugh, as bad as petting a buffalo. O Well.
At the parking lot there is a food trailer offering Lamb Stew, Fish and Chips, and yes, hot dogs. We had a couple of hot dogs before getting to our bus for the return trip.
Back in town we made our way back to the hotel to clean up and plan a bit of tomorrow.
It was an amazing experience to see the lava erupting, here are just a few pictures of the route, eruption, lava field, etc etc. Lynn gets the photo credit for the video and better trail picture. Sorry for now the video Lynn took is to large to upload.
The Rangers and SAR folks continuously monitor the gas levels. Should the wind direction be unfavorable they will close the trail.
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