Kverkfjoll OffRoad

- March 23.-25. 2007 -

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Friday

Today we are heading for a fresh offroad tour to Kverkfjoll mountains and the area north of the great ice-cap Vatnajokull.

Weather forecast has not been too optimistic and it seems that warm and strong southerly winds will make traveling in the southern parts of Iceland both wet and windy with low visibility.

As we get closer to our first meeting point at the highland center at Hrauneyjar power plant the effects of the warm temperature is evident. Large areas of snow now are filled with water underneath making 4 wheeling quite challenging. 

Hrauneyjar have the last gas station for the next planned days. We tank up and fill some extra cans of fuel and head north. Even though we are still on a regular road - the snow is getting thicker as we travel further into the Icelandic highlands.

Gudmundur and Sigthor have just bought this older Toyota 4 Runner. It is pretty well equipped with 38 inch Mudders, lockers and a winch along with the high lift jack and aluminum pinch bar. On the roof is the only spare tire for the group!

Oli and Hannes on Oli's Toyota Highlux Double-Cab also equipped with a powerful winch.

The winches will soon prove useful.

Another new traveling companion is Hinrik on his Double Cab. The tires are 37 inch Toyo. The Toyo tires are slightly stiff and don't work as well as the Mudder or Ground Hawg IIs the others use.

Skuli and Hannes in the trusted flame red Land Rover Defender.

Soon the snow gets deeper and the water has turned the snow into slush. As Skuli is the first to find out...

...and me too not long afterwards.

All the others experience their own stuck of various levels - quickly fixed with the rope or winching.

As we get to the north side of the highlands the weather shows definite improvements. The sky is cleared and the the wind is reduced.

The most scary part of the route is crossing the bridge over the river Skjalfandafljot. At this spot it is running in a canyon of about 10 meters (40 feet) deep. The bridge is covered with thick layers of snow as you can see from the railing.

Gudmundur is the first to cross. Minor mistakes or irregularities in the snow might send the truck on a scary but short flight.

After Gudmundur has made the first tracks all the others get over safely.

Just a stone throw away from the hut my Explorer Sport Trac falls into a hidden cavity. It happens so fast that loose objects inside the truck are thrown around - myself included. Lucky me - there is no great damage and I don't get hurt.

The cavity is one of many around the hut at Gaesavotn. It is formed by small wells of warm geothermal water melting the ice and snow but not enough to make a visible hole.

Left tires are about 1.5 meters lower than the right! Getting the truck out takes all the tricks in the book. Main objective is to make as little damage as possible

. Heavy shoveling to free the axles, breaking the ice with the pinch bar, using the high lift jack to level the truck and build a new "road" for the left wheels to stand on and then winching using a tire to get it up.

Thrandur Arnthorsson