Solo Iceland Traverse

Iceland Traverse Solo

An unsupported 600km journey on foot traversing the land of fire and ice, from its most Southerly lighthouse to its most Northerly.

This journey was not about racing fast times or completing world firsts. It was simply an adventure in its purist form. To be comfortable with being uncomfortable. To explore, to enjoy and to feel alive.

Iceland is a wild, remote, and challenging land, dominated by huge glaciers, ashen deserts, and mighty lava structures.  My journey started at the Cape Dyrhólaey Lighthouse in the South and took me North via the volcanic wastelands and lunar landscapes of the Icelandic Highlands, before finishing at the Hraunhafnartangi Lighthouse in the north 15.5 days later.

The weather on this volcanic island is notoriously brutal, you can’t avoid rain, sandstorms, glacial rivers, strong winds, snow and vast emptiness (although I think I got off fairly lightly). My route was defined by the Odadahraun Desert, Iceland’s most desolate destination and the largest lava field in the world, accessible only during the short window of the year when it isn’t covered by snow. The impressive and stunning scenery was like nothing I have ever seen before anywhere in the world, positively unique!

If you are looking for a truly wild and remote place to travel across, but want to feel really safe, then Iceland is the place. The Search & Rescue system is superb, dangers other than the environment are minimal, and for somewhere that is a relatively short plane ride away, the diversity of the stunning scenery is possibly unrivalled.

A couple of podcast interviews about the hike