By Sarah Rayner
My friend Linda, who I met while on a hike in Banff Alberta, talked to me about doing a hike in Iceland. I always had Iceland on my list of flight stop overs, but never hiking. With thanks to my friend Linda and Amarok Adventures – Adventure trips in the Arctic & Antarctic regions, I had an amazing time and learned a lot about myself during the 12-day hike.
The hike was in the highlands which entails sheep tracks, mountain ridge trails, lots of river crossings, both solo and in pairs. It delivered a new trail family, amazing meals, spectacular views at every turn, stories of trolls and elves, sleeping in Mountain Huts, very steep mountains to hike up and of course down, and of course Iceland wind and rain. To top it off we were able to visit two amazing natural hot springs (which we all enjoyed).
I had a pack of 27lbs which I carried daily as I hiked. We hiked a total of 160 km in the 10 days and had 2 additional travel days.
I truly love adding exercise to my vacations and hiking is a great way to see the world’s hidden trails. We didn’t see any people for 7 of the 10 days. We were all unplugged from our devices and had a great time singing, playing games and laughing until we cried.
What I learned from this hiking adventure is that I love meeting new like-minded people who I now call friends and that I can still do hard SHIT and love every minute. It’s great to challenge myself physically and mentally and win.
Bio: I’m a 52 year old mother who was very active as a young adult and since my girls were teens I have returned to sports and being very active while on vacations. I love being challenged both physically and mentally and meeting like minded people. The friends I have made a long the way have been life changing.
