Aug 2018 - (with Gemma) Ascent from Hnifsdalur. We had a tight window for this hike today; the ship was only in port for six hours. The tourist office informed us that here were no buses and ‘definitely no taxis’, therefore we hitched a lift from Isafjordur to Hnifsdalur, courtesy of a kind local man who spoke not a word of English but was clearly fiercely proud of the area. He dropped us off at a scenic viewpoint about half a mile beyond the start point. The hike planned was in a book however it became clear that the author had never actually hiked the route as we faced several challenges that he failed to mention. Just a classic walk in and up through a glacial valley with sheer castellated ridges either side. Waterfalls, vibrant moss fields and mini-glacial lakes were enjoyed before we eventually reached an initial ridge, beyond which was a huge corrie chocked with snow, littered with boulders and no seemingly no way up and over the ridge (none of which was mentioned in the book). The vastness of tundra stretched southwards; the views were incredible. It took us a while to pick our way across the steep snow field and find a place to scramble up it where a slip wouldn’t be fatal! I went ahead using the corkscrew on my penknife as a makeshift ice axe (we’d not brought ours or our crampons – oversight). Once about the snow, there was a tricky scramble up a steep pitch of crumbling rock. Gemma described it as apple crumble! Thankfully, we reached the ridge and a narrow gap between rock towers. The views down to the Isafjordur fjord the other side were incredible. More pressing, however, was the fact that the ship was still 5/6 miles away with tricky terrain to cross. It was almost 1:30pm; just two and a bit hours until the ship left port. To cut a long story short, we made it due to some scree running and a kind couple who picked us up at the head of the fjord and drove us the last mile to the ship. A great adventure - on to Greenland!