We had a full day in Landmannalauger before begin our Laugavegur trek, so we opted to explore the countryside with a bit of dayhiking. Anthony and Anneka were interested in checking out some nearby river valleys, so only Paul and Leslie accompanied us on this route. We opted to climb to the summit of Sušurnįmur, and then hike over to see Frostastašavatn. It was at Frostastašavatn that we spotted the perfectly formed cinder cone of Jaršfalliš, and ended up investigating that as well.
This map shows our day hike route. We walked on the road away from Landmannalauger, and followed the red stakes up the steep side of Sušurnįmur. Although it appears on the map that we were not following an official route, we actually were on the newly marked path. The old path shown on the map was washed away recently, so a new route had been plotted through a stream bed and then up a narrow ridge to the summit. After visiting the mountain top and then taking the side jaunt to the viewpoint overlooking Landmannalauger, we retraced our steps down the mountainside and back to the road. Only a short distance on the road was the trailhead for the Frostastašavatn hike. We walked a long a ridge that afforded us views of the big lake. We saw the perfectly shaped cinder cone of Jaršfalliš. After circling the rim of the Jaršfalliš cone, we walked back to Landmannalauger on the road.
I was surprised by the amount of vehicles traveling on the rutted roads as we walked back to Landmannalauger. I thought we were in the isolated interior of Iceland, far from the idle
tourists and traffic. But apparently many people take their vehicles out onto these dirt roads, because we were passed by multiple cars, sometimes two or three at a time. The size of the parking lot at Landmannalauger
should have been a clue about how popular driving out there is.
That evening we enjoyed another long soak in the hot springs. Hot water from the thermal area of Mt. Brennisteinsalda spills into a big, shallow pool. There are people from all over
the world there; we ended up talking to a woman from Australia. She said that visiting Tasman was an excellent idea; it is beautiful there. She also said that the northwest corner of Australia was also wonderful countryside, which
was something I had never heard before. Sharing room 4 of the Landmannalauger hut this night was a family that planned to run the Laugavegur race the next day - run the full 55Km from Landmannalauger to Žórsmörk in one day. The two
young men hoped to finish in six hours, while the mother's goal was to complete the run in eight hours. The winning time for the 2023 race was an
incredible 4 hours and 48 seconds. The oldest runner was a 75 year old man who finished in six and half hours!Panorama Photos
