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This route is one of the most interesting and adventurous for
4wd vehicles in the
country, where experience with the vehicles and river crossings is totally necessary. It
takes you along the northern edge of the largest icecap of Europe and the terrain is so
rugged that the average speed hardly exceeds 10 km/hour. It takes about nine hours to
drive between the tourist huts at Nyidalur on the Sprengisandur route and Drekagil in the
Askja region. To accomplish this you must take the original route, the southern one, not
the new one across the lava fields closer to the shield volcano Trolladyngja. Extreme
care has to be taken when fording glacial rivers and when the last one, just east of the
Uršarhals, is reached the vehicles must never halt in the water during the crossing. If
there is any hesitation the vehicles will immediately bog down in the moving sand.
You
have to select the first low gear and keep going until you reach dry land on
the other side. Only that way, and without losing your nerve, you will get
through. The best time of day to get through is early in the morning before
the melting starts. This route is very barren an desolate and there are not
many people around, sometimes you are alone. The surroundings and the
scenery on a fine day simply cannot be described with words
- you have to see to believe. It is almost as
if you are alone in the world.
Hiking. This is a very popular route for long hikes.
The hiking trail is a not too well trodden jeep track along the northern
edge of icecap Vatnajokull. En-route some streams and rivers have
to be forded, but inbetween are totally dry areas, where the hikers have
to rely on their water supplies or snow patches nearby. Long hikes require good planning, preparations,
and physical fitness. The psychology has to be considered as
well. Sometimes the vast, barren landscapes, and the solitude
overwhelme hikers, who are travelling alone and do not meet a soul for
days on end.
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