Day 7 - Hiking around Myvatn

I was up at 7 again. Not knowing yet what the plan would be for the day, I packed everything up and left the fully loaded bike by reception. The tourist information place was very conveniently located across the road from the campsite, so I wandered over to get some ideas. The weather forecast wasn't great for the day with rain predicted. I didn't fancy cycling in the rain so decided that I'd spend the day in Myvatn hiking around some of the local trails (these were shown in a free leaflet I picked up). Knowing that it would be a full-on day I popped into the supermarket getting pasta/pasta sauce to have for brunch before leaving and some snack-foods that were small/light enough to fit in the Camelbak. I walked across the road back to the campsite, paid for another night (packing everything up earlier was a complete waste of time), and went into the camp kitchen to sort out brunch. The campsite kitchen was very busy (one sink, one worktop, one hob and a few pots and pans for the entire campsite) so it was a case of everyone trying to work around each other and waiting their turn. Not ideal when it was 10.30am and I had probably 30km of hiking I was keen to get on with. Eventually the pasta was cooked and eaten, and ham/cheese rolls prepared for later. It was well after 11am when I started walking. The map on the free leaflet I had wasn't very detailed and it wasn't long before I ended up on a golf course - clearly having taken a wrong turn somewhere. Not wanting to backtrack and delay myself any more I went in the correct general direction towards the first trail. Thankfully this worked and there were small painted wooden stakes marking the path. However these disappeared again soon - I continued walking as there was a clear track created by a 4-wheel drive offroad vehicle. I must have carried on down here for at least 45 minutes slowly gaining altitude, seeing a lot of birds and getting more and more remote. The track eventually ended and there was no path or painted stakes in sight - I must have gone the wrong way again. The weather had taken a turn for the worse (it started off being cloudy and now it was foggy and damp). I jogged/powerwalked back the way I had came and eventually saw the painted stakes again :) . I had followed the big track rather than paying attention to the stakes which marked a barely-visible path up what I think was a volcano. This was the first of four landmarks on the free map so I started climbing. It was very tough climbing - steep and long with loose shingly material underfoot. About half an hour later I made it to the top - unfortunately the visibility was extremely limited and I couldn't see more than about 10 metres away so wasn't able to enjoy the views. It was too cold and windy at the top so I was back down again quickly. After a snack and photos I continued jogging/powerwalking along the next trail. It wasn't long before this led to a massive lava field and once again the painted stakes disappeared. I was trying to take more time navigating this time and it didn't seem obvious where the correct path was - there appeared to be a faint unmarked path skirting around the edge of the lava field so I followed this. I was back to walking again as was focussed on seeing where the path led. This lasted for what must have a good hour, with the damp conditions lingering. I was starting to get pretty cold and a bit concerned the longer this went on. Thankfully on this occasion my decision to persevere with the unmarked path paid off as the painted stakes came into sight again and I was back on track! The next couple of hours were awesome - the stakes took me across the middle of the lava field - the landscape and magma formations were incredible. I didn't see another soul whilst on the lava field - it was like being on Mars or something. Running for sections of this clearly-marked path warmed me up nicely. Next there was a spectacular glacial river - I was able to clamber under this void under the ice at the edge (basically like an ice cave) - brilliant. The path then took me to Hverir (a well-known hot-spring area) close by. They had built this wooden path for the tourists that led to the main bit - this was pointless as detracted to the landscape and made walking around feel more like a tour and less of an adventure. There were quite a few tourists taking photos when I reached the end of the man-made path - the hot-springs were impressive but having the tourists and the path certainly detracted from the experience. After leaving here and starting to make my way onto the next trail I started to need a poo. This was definitely not the time or place with no toilets anywhere, and it being far too cold to want to squat down anywhere. This slowed me down to a moderate walk which I maintained for a few hours holding it in. The path took me most notably up a mountain and along a ridge giving spectacular panoramic views. Eventually I could see the next landmark ahead. This looked very similar to Hverir - another hot-spring area with a car park for all the fat lazy tourists choosing to drive rather than enjoy the walk. I made the decision to follow the road back to Reykjahlio as I was more concerned with warming up and using the toilet than seeing another tourist-laden hot spring area. A few kilometers before getting back to the campsite a car pulled over beside me - it was a French woman and her family that I had spoken to briefly earlier at the campsite. They offered me a lift - I gratefully accepted and was back in 5 minutes. After getting the immediate hot shower/toilet priorities out of the way there was another issue - all my clothes were wet after the day's hiking. Thankfully the campsite had a laundry service so I was able to wash and dry everything. This meant that I had to cook and eat the second batch of dinner pasta wearing my sleeping bag - thankfully it was quite late and there weren't too many other people in the camp kitchen at this time. After dinner I had to take the tent and camping gear (that I had left by the toilet block all day) back down to the grass and set it up again. Unfortunately the sleeping bag was too restrictive so I had to work fast in the cold wearing just a t-shirt and shorts. I was tucked up shortly after midnight. There was no point in getting up early as I would have to wait until 9am to collect my laundry from reception before doing much. I set the alarm set for 8.