Day 1 Hesteyri to Kjaransvik: (live tracking on www.franktschoepe.com News)
After the flight from Reykjavik to Isafj�rdur I managed to get 2 bottles of fuel for free (you can get as many as you want directly at all the airports!!!), tent pegs and a moskito net (there are no moskitos in Iceland though, but there are very small flies, so I am prepared). Then I added 2 beer (first day luxury for me) and also bought some hot dogs, meat and dog food (these items are not for me, but for the arctic foxes!) I am very sure that I will easily attract them with these delicious meat variations! Interesting to see what will be the most popular for them! It will be like Christmas day, much easier than catching birds or looking for dead fish at the beaches!
After the boat tour from Isafj�rdur to Hesteyri (1h10) I started right away with me 42kg backpack! It is tough after the ultra run yesterday, still with a pulled muscle, so I walked slowly and safety first! Very early I heard that one hiker slipped down the steeper snow slope down the pass and I watched the rescue team with a huge, orange helicopter! This Icelandic rescue team did great work - here I feel much safer than in other countries!
Fortunately I had the steeper passage up to pass as an uphill snow slope, so it was easy to find the best way and no problem at all! Downhill it could be a problem if you dont find the easiest slope! And of course there is very often fog! Even today it was foggy, but I managed to see the stone markers all the time! Nearly at the beach of Kjaransvik I saw the first artic fox! But that one was cautious and kept in 30m distance from me! I tried to imatate birds, but the fox looked only curiously at me! So no photos yet, also as it was foggy! The fox was a brown one with a white tail!
Now after 6h30min I am totally exhausted (I had only one beer during the hike, nothing else) and I am happy to eat and sleep! Today is "eat as much as you can" to reduce the weight of my backpack!
Hearing the waves from the sea, which is only a few meters away!
So far from northern Iceland! One thing is for sure: Each day I will reach my planned destination before darkness! :-)
And I met several germans here! One couple just came from Jan Mayen, 3 rough days on a stormy sea with a boat! They were all sea-sick!
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