Aug 2014 - (with Gemma) Sensational day today as we enjoyed a guided hike! The 25km hiking trail from Skógar, over the Fimmvörðuháls pass between the Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull ice caps, then down the other side to Þórsmörk, offers spectacular views and traverses lava from the 2010 eruption at Eyjafjallajökull. The trail starts by taking the staircase up Skógarfoss, and then follows the river uphill over a muddy, shaly heath carpeted by thick patches of moss. There are many waterfalls along the way, each of them unique: some twist through contorted gorges, others drop in a single narrow sheet, bore tunnels through obstructive rocks, or rush smoothly over broad, rocky beds. Around 8km along we crossed a bridge and left most of the vegetation behind for a dark, rocky plain flanked by the smooth contours of Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. Crossing Fimmvörðuháls (1100m), the flat pass in between the two glaciers; there’s a pale blue tarn and then a gentle ascent to where the path weaves around and over the rough lavafields created in 2010. Up here Gemma was in her element, loving the two new volcanoes that were created: Modi and Magni. We played around in the lava fields for a bit and then continued a small ascent. You end up at the top of a slope with a fantastic vista of Þórsmörk laid out below, Mýrdalsjökull’s icy outrunners hemming in the view to the east. This brings you toHeljarkambur, a narrow, 50m traverse with a vertical rockface rising on one side and a steep snowfield dropping 75m on the other. At the far end is the flat, muddy gravel plateau of Morinsheiði: steaming new lava at the neck with Heljarkambur is dispersing the glacier edge in a noisy waterfall here. The views of the moss-coated mounatins were surreal, like something out of a fantasy movie. After crossing the plateau, we descended to Þórsmörk crossing the excellent knife-edge “Cat’s Spine” ridge. The drive out onto the tarmac road took almost 2 hours as we bumped along and forded several rivers. At one point the driver got out of the bus and was banging around the underside of the bus with a metal pole! We arrived back in Reykjavik at quarter to midnight! An unforgettable day!