Laugavegur Day 1: Landmannalaugar to Álftavatn (21km)

Please subscribe, so you don't miss when I upload the next days/videos 😉 The video starts with the arrival by bus at Landmannalaugar. There are 2 daily buses from Reykjavik: at 7:30am and 12:30pm (Trex). I chose the later one because I didn't want to pack my tent so super early in the morning (I stayed at Reykjavik Campsite). I started the hike on day 1 very early at 7am (woke up at 5am) because I knew it would probably be the hardest/longest day of the Laugavegur (only the Fimmvörðuháls on day 5 was longer). You can shorten day 1 if you stay overnight at Hrafntinnusker. But the hut is small (books out quick) and camping can be very cold and windy. So most of the people hike all the way to Álftavatn hut, which is not so cold anymore. Fortunately the weather forecast was great. Bad weather can make day 1 dangerous, because in poor visibility you can get lost in the area before/after Hrafntinnusker hut. I expected more people on the trail, but was surprised how easy it was to be "alone". The trail is so long, people walk different speeds, so they really spread out. I just had 1 bigger tour group overtaking me just before Hrafntinnusker. I simply did a longer break and after that I didn't see them anymore for the rest of the day. They walked a bit faster than me, because they all just had "daypacks" (probably slept in huts). At no point the trail was technically difficult. Even with a 20kg backpack it was manageable, it just takes some time and patience and endurance. I had trained for 1 week in the Dolomite Alps 3 weeks before I came to Iceland. So that definitely improved my endurance. There are some "snow bridges" that can be dangerous, because they can break if you walk on them. But if you stay on the marked path and don't try to cross the snow randomly where you want, you are safe. The hardest for me were the endless snowfields in the area around Hrafntinnusker. The snow was not deep, but walking on it drained my energy... There is 1 small river crossing 3km before you arrive at Álftavatn. But that is "rarely calf deep". Many people just "rock hopped" over that small river/stream. But I decided to practice for the deeper river crossings on day 2 and 3. Check out my video about all the river crossings:    • Laugavegur Trail: All River Crossings   Official trail information: https://www.fi.is/en/hiking-trails/tr... https://www.fi.is/en/hiking-trails/tr... Weather forecast: https://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts... https://www.featherytravels.com/check... Strava:   / strava   #iceland #laugavegur #fimmvörðuháls ---------- Credits: ---------- Videos, editing and production: Matthias Grallert Music: Just the sound of nature, my footsteps and occasionally some coughing and sniffing 😅