Iceland Day 17-18
After a nice sleep, I woke up with a late start and began to get ready. Although the camping ground I stayed at was really cheap, the facilities were definitely lacking. There was pretty much 2 bathrooms for everyone and an outdoor sink. I had to wait in line for awhile for the bathroom. During this time, a Danish couple was asking around for anyone with jumpers. I gave them my battery jumper to try while I was in the restroom.
Once I was done getting ready, I packed up my truck and drove it over to the couple to see how it was going. The battery pack wasn’t charging it, which was odd. I then tried to jump start the car with regular jumpers. After multiple attempts, quick Google to make sure I wasn’t insane and forgot how to jump a car, and even a call to her dad who was a mechanic, we concluded that there was something wrong with the camper. I chatted with them for a bit while eating my breakfast, but once I was done, wished them luck and began my day of backtracking.
It was a tough decision on whether I should continue on with my journey, or make the effort to see if the tire was still where I thought it fell. After talking to Florian, I decided to go back even though it was about 80 miles backwards. I did this because I don’t want to leave any trash behind in such a beautiful country and if I could save an expensive tire, it would be worth it. I took F232 back with no issues and crossed the long path past Maefill. Passing by Maelifell every time just blew me away. It is such a bright landmark jutting out of the sea of black sand.
As I started to make my way closer and closer to the rocks cape portion where I believe the swingout fell, I began to look around. Finally, at the very end, I spotted it! Someone moved it off the main trail and put it up against the triangle scultpures. I was pretty happy it was there, but also annoyed that I had to backtrack so far. Then came the part of loading it into the truck. Considering the total weight is probably around 100lbs, if not more, I parked the truck as close as possible and carried the thing into the back seat area and strapped it down. Once loaded up, I started to make my way out.
After crossing Maelifell for the 4th and hopefully final time, I had a decision to make. Should I take the long way around to get to F208S, or should I cross the Hólmsá River and take F233. I decided to take the adventurous route and head to the F233 shortcut. After taking one of the dirt trails back to the river, I began to evaluate the crossing. The conditions looked about the same as before, but this time I was by myself. I took the time to cross the freezing river and found the path the I would want to take.
After getting dry again, I finally got the truck ready and started the crossing. It went as smooth as expected and no issues came up. When I got to the next water crossing, I saw 2 Dusters on the other side contemplating the river. I crossed over and talked to them a bit. None of them had experience crossing the river, so I discussed with them the route to take, the speed they should go at, and what to do. Ultimately, I told them it was their choice since it was there rental. They decided to do it, so I crossed back over and prepped my car in case they needed help. The first one made it over no issue, but the second one got hung up on a rock. Fortunately, he backed out okay and took a different line. After saying goodbye, I made my way over again and headed to F223. F223 is a short and easy Froad that leads to the Eldgjá hiking area. At the end, there is a nice lake and a little ranger station. I stopped by and talked to the ranger a bit about my plan to go north. The north area had been getting heavy snow, and he said although my truck could probably make it, he did not advise it. After a long discussion, I decided to head back south and go check out the Vestmannaeyjar. I ended up back on F225, and found a small campsite about a 40 minute drive to the ferry, booked my ticket, and called it a night.
