Posts - Page 39 of 286 - Christof Teuscher

UPDATE (Aug 27, 2023): Finished the traverse at 4:34pm on Aug 27, 2023. See report for more details and photos.

On Sat, Aug 19, 2023, I plan to start for an unsupported and solo FKT attempt to traverse Iceland north to south. The route is approximately 375mi (604km) long and connects the northernmost with the southernmost lighthouse. Unsupported means I will carry all my supplies from the beginning to the end and will only rely on natural water sources.

The 375mi Iceland traverse. It somehow feels a little too ambitious.

The route and current FKTs

The 375mi (give or take) North-South Iceland traverse FKT route was introduced and first completed self-supported in 2018 by Meredith Quinlan and Jess Baker in 7d 13h 50m. The route starts at the Hraunhafnartangi lighthouse, the northernmost lighthouse, and ends at the Dyrhólaey lighthouse, the southernmost lighthouse. The Hraunhafnartangi lighthouse is located only about 800 meters south of the Arctic Circle. The route includes the famous Laugavegur trail between Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk. National Geographic listed the trail as one of the most beautiful trails in the world.

Eli Burakian currently holds the unsupported FKT in 13d 2h 45m. He logged about 375mi. Glen Baddeley set a supported FKT in 2022 in 10d 11h 26m 30s by running the “East Coast” route between the two lighthouses. That 460mi route essentially follows roads on the East coast of Iceland.

The Hraunhafnartangi (northernmost) and Dyrhólaey (southernmost) lighthouses. Image credits: LEFT – TommyBee / Public Domain. RIGHT – PJT56 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 (used with permission).

I opted for a minimal but practical gear kit for the traverse. The duffle bag will allow me to float across rivers. I neatly fit in. The rest of the gear is self-explanatory.

Fun fact: a comparison of the size of my home country (Switzerland) with the size of Iceland.

Dot watching

Tracking will be available in the embedded map below or at https://maps.findmespot.com/s/5YSF. I plan to start at the northern terminus of the route (i.e., the Hraunhafnartangi lighthouse) in the morning hours of Sat, Aug 19, 2023.

Resources and other traverses

This is not a joke.

The Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic is an adventure challenge that espouses purity of style and zero impact. Started in 1982 as a 150-mile (240 km) wilderness traverse, the Classic has crossed various mountain ranges throughout Alaska with some routes covering nearly 250 miles (400 km). Traditionally, the same route has been used for three years in a row, with each year being a different month (June, July, or August). The organization of the challenge is grass-roots, having no affiliation to any organization or group.

The rules are simple: start to finish with no outside support, requiring that participants carry all food and equipment; human-powered; leave no trace; and rescue is up to the individual to resolve. The most common form of transportation is by foot and packraft, although bicycles, skis, and paragliders have been used by intrepid participants.

After years of eyeing the Classic, I finally decided to participate in 2023. This report is mainly a photo and video report.

The 2022-2024 course

The 2022-2024 course starts at the Little Tok River end ends in McCarthy. The ~190mi (310km) route crosses the Wrangell–St. Elias National Park, although there is no prescribed route between the start and the finish. Participants sometimes take wildly different routes. Choosing your own route is part of the Classic.