Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [255]
Drivers should note that there’s no fuel along the way. The nearest petrol stations are at Akureyri if you come in on the Eyjafjörður approach; at Varmahlíð if you’re driving the Skagafjörður approach; at Fosshóll, near Goðafoss, if you’re coming from the north along the main route through Bárðardalur; and at Hrauneyjar if you’re driving from the south.
Eyjafjörður Approach
From the north the F821 from southern Eyjafjörður (south of Akureyri) connects to the Skagafjörður approach at Laugafell. This route is very pleasant, with few tourists, but it’s a more difficult drive.
Skagafjörður Approach
From the northwest the 81km-long F752 connects southern Skagafjörður (the nearest town is Varmahlíð on the Ring Road) to the Sprengisandur route. The roads join near the lake Fjórðungsvatn, 20km east of Hofsjökull.
Laugafell
The main site of interest on the Skagafjörður is Laugafell, an 879m-high mountain with some nice hot springs bubbling on its northwestern slopes. You can stay nearby at the Ferðafélag Akureyrar hut ( 462 2670; N 65°01.630’, W 18°19.950’; per person Ikr2000; Jul & Aug), with 35 beds, a kitchen and a beautiful geothermally heated pool. Some stone ruins near the springs are reputed to have housed escapees from the Black Death.
* * *
OF BLIZZARDS & BONES
The spookily named Beinahóll (Bone Hill), 4km west of the road near Kjalfell, is the cue for a tragic tale. Although they realised it might be difficult so late in the season, in late October 1780, five farmers decided to return with their new flock of sheep to Skagafjörður along the Kjölur route. When a blizzard set in, they holed up and waited for it to pass, but the storm raged for three weeks without stopping, and all five men perished. Eerily, although the victims’ bodies were discovered, when authorities arrived later to collect them, two had disappeared.
Today, sheep and horse bones still lie across the macabre hillock, and a memorial stone has been raised by the men’s descendants. Icelanders believe that Beinahóll is haunted by the victims of this sad incident, and that to remove any of the bones or disturb the site is to invite permanent bad luck.
* * *
* * *
THE BADLANDS
Historically in Iceland, once a person had been convicted of outlawry they were beyond society’s protection and aggrieved enemies could kill them at will. Many outlaws, or útilegumenn, such as the renowned Eiríkur Rauðe (Erik the Red), voluntarily took exile abroad. Others escaped revenge-killing by fleeing into the mountains, valleys and broad expanses of the harsh Icelandic interior, where few dared pursue them.
Undoubtedly, anyone who could live year-round in these bitter, barren deserts must have been extraordinary. Icelandic outlaws were naturally credited with all sorts of fearsome feats, and the general populace came to fear the vast badlands, which they considered to be the haunt of superhuman evil. The útilegumenn thereby joined the ranks of giants and trolls, and provided the themes for popular tales, such as the fantastic Grettir’s Saga.
One particular outlaw has become the subject of countless Icelandic folk tales. Fjalla-Eyvindur, a charming but incurable 18th-century kleptomaniac, fled into the highlands with his wife, and continued to make enemies by rustling sheep to keep them alive. Throughout the highlands you’ll see shelters and hideouts attributed to him and hear tales of his ability to survive in impossible conditions while always staying one jump ahead of his pursuers. One of Iceland’s best-known folk songs describes how his wife, Halla, threw their newborn child into a waterfall when food was scarce during a harsh winter.
* * *
Nýidalur
Nýidalur (known as Jökuldalur), the range just south of the Tungnafellsjökull ice cap, was discovered by a lost traveller in 1845. With a campsite, two Ferðafélag Íslands huts ( summer 854 1194; N 64°44.130’, W 18°04.350’; sb Ikr2000; Jul-Aug) and lots of hiking possibilities, it makes