- March 23.-25. 2007 -
Sunday at Kverkfjoll starts out with a slightly better weather. Although it is still a bit windy.
Now you can better see the legendary "Hrollur". The owner has made it out of various scrap parts. It is basically a Jeep CJ with the frame made longer. The front part is from a Jeepster and the truck bed is from another CJ. The roof and part of the cab comes from an old Land Rover. To power the 44 inch wheels is a 6.5 diesel engine supported with a couple of Dana 44 axles.
The hut at Kverkfjoll is big and quite comfortable with decent heating and isolation.
We start out to visit the ice caves of Kverkfjoll.
Gudmundur is the first to dip his nose into the slush. From the looks of him he is enjoying the whole thing.
Skuli has discovered that a tire air vent is leaking. The solution is to cut it off and plug it with a tire repair strand.
View from the hut is magnificent. In the far distance you can see mt. Herdubreid.
At the edge of the glacier the wind is blowing strong. It will be good to get inside - if only for that fact.
The ice cave is formed by a warm geothermal river coming from way under the glacier.
Skuli has taken along a few torches and we will try and walk as far as we can inside. We can get as far as a small waterfall.
Last year a few in the group escorted some French adventurers who used oxygen tanks and other equipment to try to get as far under the glacier as possible. After about 3 km (2 miles) they had to stop because of the heat. That was a world record in going under a glacier like that.
The inside of the ice cave is made magical by the natural light in addition to the torch lights.
Holding a torch behind a clump of ice.
It is getting late now and we must be heading back. Going over the ice cap is out of the question. Obviously we have a long day ahead. The decision is made to follow in the other groups tracks. It will be less slush and the shortest way to a paved road.
Soon after we start back, Hinrik has his tire fall off the rim. Since it falls of the inside rim as well as the outside we have to take the tire off.
Beginning by getting it back on the inside rim by digging a hole, placing the wheel over it with the rim hanging down and standing on it to get the tire in place. Then turning it around and holding the tire evenly around the whole circumference while pumping air until the outside also snaps into place.
It is even warmer than yesterday and we have to cross a number of wet spots like this.
Finally we come to the Karahnjukar dam. They are building a HUGE hydro-electric power plant that will be used to power an aluminum smelter. The water is still getting higher.
This is where we air up the tires to make them highway compatible.
This Nissan pickup will escort the group over the dam. The number of Nissan pickups in the area is staggering.
The main dam at Karahnjukar.
Looking down from the dam we see the canyon where the river used to run.
On our way to Egilsstadir we drive by a group of reindeers.
In Egilsstadir we stop for dinner at the local hamburger joint. Driving back to Reykjavik either by the south coast or the northern route that we choose is equally long at around 650 km (400 miles).
Skuli has problems with one of the tires and decides to use the spare tire that Gudmundur has been carrying. We are lucky to find a guy who owns a tire repair shop and is willing to help even though it is late Sunday night.
After driving until the wee hours of the morning we finally get back to Reykjavik.
Like always this has been a great use of the weekend. Thanks for all who worked together to handle all tasks that came up.
Thrandur Arnthorsson
Thrandur is the chief-editor and owner of 4x4 Off Roads and an 4x4 off road enthusiast. Living in Iceland he loves to share the coolest 4x4 trucks and supporting more offroad freedom.
If you want to get YOUR 4x4 featured on 4x4OffRoads you can post your story here.
