Zwischen Sturm und Stille – Packrafting Expedition Island 2019
And again it is unusually warm for the start. And - even more unusual - calm. Since 2016, however, for the first time again little pests buzz around us on our first steps through the lava sand.
On a similar route to the one we explored 2018 we start the 7 self-sufficient days on Iceland and are soon caught by the silence the so-called Superjeep left behind when it returns without us.
As is typical for Iceland, much will be different on the next day than on this first day. We are wrapped up in everything we have with us, hoody over our heads and cold hands, sitting in the packraft and trying to paddle ourselfs warm into the fog.
Almost 6 days lie ahead of us in completely different landscapes, between colourful sulphur rocks, rushing brooks, whiteout on snow fields, grandiose views, storm in the night and sunny views of a waterfall, and we hope the pictures tell a little about it.
Sebastian, leader of the expedition and basically satisfied as long as there is enough water and chocolate. More about Sebastian can also be found here.
The feeling of such days, this feeling of being on the move on this unusual island, cannot - again and again - actually be captured in pictures. We try it with this gallery anyway.
But if there was a picture, and a story that describes why you never know the way on Iceland, even if you have already gone it, and why Iceland should not be underestimated, then it is this:
It was created around 5 p.m. on the fourth day on the road. Behind us there are already almost 15 km on a very nice river in not so nice weather, 10 km crossing a lava field in fog and wind and several rivers on foot. In front of us lies one of the few wind-protected places of this plain in 700 m as the crow flies, but the river at which we stand had clearly too much water to be crossed on foot.
So, in this weather, we took the packrafts out and built them up for the second time in one day and at the end of a long day we did a challenging river crossing.
The sun, the view of the glacier and the view of the magnificent landscape we crossed came the next afternoon. And suddenly we were sitting there in a T-shirt.
For all those you see in the film and in the pictures, the way to the expeditions led via Multiday Trainings in the Hunsrück or the Bavarian Forest and whitewater trainings like those in the Alps or at the Soča.
It takes a lot of skills, to enjoy and master expedition locations like Albania, Albania, Iceland or Canada. That's why we have our course program.
Would you like to become part of an LWA expedition? Then get in touch with us and we'll take a look at your personal route.
One Comment
Pingback: