“Fellowship in the Land of Fire and Ice” by Josh Roberts for SmarterTravel.com in The American Adventurer

Topic: Adventure

Josh Roberts details a seven day hike he took in Iceland in the summer.  His first impression of the territory is that of J. R. Tolkien’s description of both Middle Earth and the Shire.  He is impressed by the beauty, emptiness, and harshness of the landscape.  The group, led by a British guide named Kelso, consisted of 12 people. 

Their journey began in the shadow of the volcano, Mt. Hekla.  They hiked for six days covering 80 miles and only saw another person after three days of travel. They were above the tree line until the fifth day.  The land and weather were always changeable and variable.  The group witnessed lava field, treeless valleys, moss-covered foothills, bubbling sulfuric pools, glacial rivers, lakes, and snow-speckled mountain ridges.  Sun, snow, and hail were all a part of the weather and this was in the heart of summer.  Roberts also details some of the history of Iceland and how, like Australia, it was a place where convicts were exiled to live or die as they were able a thousand years ago.

Roberts thoroughly enjoyed the rugged journey and the landscape.

My Comments:

Last year my mother gave me a book she particularly liked called, A Good Horse Has No Color.  It is placed in Iceland.  It is a non-fiction tale of a woman’s love affair with Iceland and its horses, which led her to study the country, learn the language, and eventually purchase two horses to ship back to her home in America.  I loved the rich descriptions of the mythology of Iceland.  The stories were harsh and rugged, just like the landscape and people she describes.  Iceland has very special small, sturdy horses called Icelandics.  I have ridden these gaited creatures and they are quite lovely, though small. 

After reading the book, I wanted to travel to Iceland more than ever.  Perhaps I will one day, though I would prefer to ride across the landscape and see the view from the back of a horse as opposed to walking the mountains.  Perhaps one day I will do both.