Packraft Expedition
Iceland

Words by Rowan B, photography by Rowan B and Guðný Diljá, August 2021

Throughout daily life the desire to go into the backcountry for a few days to explore grows unbearably strong and the only remedy is to pack up and go on a wild adventure!

It was a very busy mid-summer of guiding visitors on the glaciers and lakes of Skaftafell and eventually the time came for Guðný and I to have a summer holiday of our own.

The ideal plan was decided upon as we recently discovered a nice route on the map that involved hiking, camping, route finding, exploring a new glacier valley and (best of all) paddling down a catchment that neither of us had ever seen before.

In mid-August 2021 Guðný and I headed east in Southern Iceland towards the small town Höfn to meet up with our friend Röggi for a shuttle up to Hoffelsdalur Valley. Our kind request was to be driven as far as Röggi was prepared to drive us. His little Suzuki truck is a like a crab, it just crawls over rough terrain with ease and he was able to drive us a fair way up the valley! Cheers Röggi!

Once Röggi dropped us off we really had only one way out and that was to hike up to the mountain pass at the head of the valley then descend the adjacent mountainside and paddle down Skyndidalsá river. Fed by meltwater from an outlet glacier named Lambatungujökull, Skyndidalsá flows from the southeastern side of the mighty Vatnajökull ice cap.

We set off in the late evening into a dark and spooky valley that was not inviting at all.

Our large backpacks were uncomfortable and very heavy. Equipment for camping, packrafting and 4 days worth of food weighed us down and the thought of relieving our shoulders by taking off the backpack lingered in our minds with every step of the way.

After a cosy night in our little pyramid tent we woke up beside a gigantic waterfall in a bed of moss, miles from any civilisation. Total freedom!

We would have been inclined to camp in a designated camping site if there was one, however this was not possible on this journey as we were making our own path through the wilderness.

Part of the attraction of this particular mission was to check out a glacier that neither of us had seen before. Lambatungujökull means “lamb’s tongue glacier” in Icelandic and despite being white it actually did look like a lamb’s tongue!

Lambatungujökull outlet glacier was part of the route that we needed to take and we knew that this section was potentially going to be tricky with our heavy backpacks.

There were not many route options available to descend down into glacier the valley as long cliff bands and steep rocky slopes flanked most of the hillside between the mountain pass and the valley bottom.

Standing at the top it was hard to see where they were and to plan the easiest route possible with our awkwardly heavy backpacks.

We dropped our gear at the top of the mountain pass and scouted ahead to find the best route down to the valley before committing to the descent. It was at this point that we deemed the easiest path down to the river would be to descend the loose moraine wall which consisted of moraine-covered ice and walk out onto Lambatungujökull glacier to then walk to the glacier terminus and just slide off the ice and into the water like a penguin.

We were thankful that we had good solid boots as they are essential for carrying such a heavy backpack over very uneven and slippery terrain!

Negotiation of the steep moraine wall down to the glacier was slow as the rocks were loose and lying on glacier ice. A familiar but nonetheless uncomfortable combination. Walking over a natural building site with a bed surface of ice requires full attention!

We made it down and onto the ice and immediately saw that the ice was very slick and steeper than it appeared from above. We realised that we needed crampons to venture out onto the glacier ice. Unfortunately we didn’t have crampons as we already had enough weight in our backpacks so Guðný and I investigated a route on the moraine-covered ice on the glacier fringe and found that it was possible to carefully make our way beneath the loose mountain. Our hiking poles enabled us to walk like a spider by extending our arms into front legs.

Before committing, I scouted the route without my cumbersome backpack on and was relieved to discover that it was possible to continue. However, we needed to careful as it was tricky to manoeuvre through this rock and ice gutter between the glacier and the mountain.

The crux of the hike! Taking the time not to slip over was balanced between not spending too much time in this not-so-desirable location.

The glacier ice towered above us as we walked through the gutter between the glacier and the mountain and we briefly admired the colour of the glacier ice before making a swift exit out of this section of the hike.

It was a relief to finally make it down to the valley bottom. The riverbed rocks were definitely a welcome feeling beneath our boots.

Just a few more steps to reach the point in which the hike is over and the paddle begins!

lambatungnajökull-skyndidalur-packraft.jpg

We made it to the put-in! Finally the boats are inflated, gear is secured, drysuits and PFDs are on and we are ready to get on the water!

Wooohooo! Right from the source the river was good fun with nice waves and mellow rapids which made for an enjoyable packrafting descent.

There were no major hazards on this river such as large waterfalls or any portage sections.

Guðný and I really enjoyed packrafting this glacial river! The summer of 2021 had been rather dry overall on the south coast of Iceland with not much rainfall. However the water flow in Skyndidalsá was adequate as the water flowed from a sufficient source of meltwater from Lambatungujökull / Vatnajökull glacier.

What a way to spend a holiday! Guðný and I were in no rush to return to civilisation and we stretched this journey out over four days. After paddling for a few kilometres on the cold water we found a nice campsite and decided to go and warm up by a campfire. The vegetation surrounding the campsite was lush and we were totally confident that it would be safe to light a campfire given the damp conditions.

The reason why our backpacks were so heavy on the hike in was because we had packed a lot of nice food. It was a holiday for us and we wanted a degree of luxury so we brought homemade fruit cake, vegetable lasagne, cauliflower nuggets (imitation chicken nuggets), chips and all sorts of other (not-so-conventional) camp food.

Cuppa tea and a bit of cake!

The campfires are often the most memorable part of any multi-day trip. Perhaps this is due to our ancient caveman instincts.

Campfires warm your skin and warm your soul!

Ancient birch trees sheltered our tent and campsite on our second night.

After a good night’s sleep in the forest it was time to get back on the river to continue the journey downstream.

The Kokopelli Nirvana self-bailing boats were the perfect tool for the job. They handle the rapids well, we can easily secure our gear to the bow of the boat and they are a lot of fun to paddle down the river on!

There are some nice playful waves on the Skyndidalsá river!

Packrafting is the way forward for sure. These little inflatable boats made this whole journey possible!

Good times! Guðný loves paddling down into remote valleys and on new rivers here in Iceland, checking out the impressive landscapes along the way.

She also loves warming up beside a riverbank campfire! It got a little bit cold on the second day of paddling so we pulled over halfway through the paddle, warmed up by a fire and ate lunch before continuing downstream.

Whenever I scouted a section it gave me the opportunity to snap some pictures of Guðný paddling down the river. It is a lot of fun to combine photography with packrafting!

It was really nice for us to take our time on this journey and admire the beauty of this remote part of Iceland. There are no vehicle or foot tracks into this valley which makes it feel very wild.

The fun continued on the waves down the river!

Finally we reached the Jökulsá river confluence in Lónsöræfi and we decided that we were not quite ready to end the journey so we made our last campsite in another forest beside the river.