We arrived at Landmannalauger at about an hour before noon. We had two nights booked at the Landmannalauger, this gave us time to do a couple days of day hikes before heading out on the multiday Laugavegur trek. Also, one of those days was a "buffer day" - if our flights to Iceland had been delayed by a day by unforeseen circumstances, we could still hike the trail without compromising our hut reservations. Fortunately all travel worked perfectly and we had two days to enjoy day hikes in the area. We discovered that the hut check-in began at noon, so we ate lunch and then dropped off all of our heavy gear. After lunch, we headed out for a day hike (with light packs!). Our plan was to complete the circuit of the "Blue Peak" (Mt. Blahnúkúr) and the "Sulphur Wave" (Mt. Brennisteinsalda) a 6.4 miles loop trail with 2076' elevation gain.
Although the trails up the peaks looked intimidatingly steep, we climbed them without any problem. The only discomfort was when wind blew grit into my eyes. At the top, we enjoyed terrific views in all directions. Landmannalauger is famous for the riotous colors in the rhyolite mountains that surround it. The colors are due to sulphur and iron in the rocks, plus green on the slopes from moss. Some of the moss is so bright green that it looks electric. There is no other vegetation besides moss.
We finished the hike in late afternoon, and then cooked our dinner in the well-equipped kitchen in the hut. After dinner, we put on our bathing suits and walked out on the boardwalks to the hot springs. There is quite a temperature gradient in the shallow water - move too close to the inflowing water, and it is uncomfortably hot, but moved too far away, and the water is much colder. Pushing your hands down through the sand and gravel on the bottom of the pool, and it will feel much hotter just an inch or so further down.
It was a perfect first day, a precursor to all the ideal days that we were to enjoy on the rest of this vacation.
Map showing the entire loop route for hiking both Mt. Blahnúkúr and Mt. Brennisteinsalda, along with a profile of elevation gain along the route.
