Trisha and I did a 6 day hike of the Ancient Trails in Iceland. Here is an introduction and overview.

We were driven to Hut 1 on the first day and spent our first night there. All the huts were built in the 1960ies and 1970ies. This one is the second-oldest. In hindsight, it was also the most luxurious. It had a mudroom in the front, with a spacious kitchen and dining area behind it and hot running water.  Two indoor toilets. The dormitory was simple bunks. Some of us slept upstairs in the loft (attic) up a scarily steep staircase. It was freezing in the morning. You see us here with all our layers on just before departing. Trisha and I are on the left side.

Hut 2 also had one indoor toilet and a single room with bunks and a picnic table in the middle for meals with a small kitchen to the side. Right next to it was a natural hut tub. It consisted of a man-made basin fed by two water pipes. A hot one directly from one of the hot springs, running boiling water, and a cold one from the adjacent creek. The trick is to move the pipes so the water mixes in the middle making for a good temperature. We had to be careful not to slip over too close to the hot pipe. Boiling water is not good for the skin. When it got too hot, we could jump out into the creek for a dip in cold water.

Hut 3 was a trip. It was TINY:

We arrived there after a long and strenuous hike, with about 4 miles off trail across the tundra, with occasional high winds and rain. We were wet. Check out the picture below. This is the whole hut, and twelve of us (2 guides and 10 guests) slept in this. It’s literally no bigger than my home office where I am currently typing. There are four bunks on each side, two on the bottom, two upper ones you have to climb in. The length of the hut is perhaps 12 or 13 feet. Then there were another four sleeping spots upstairs in the loft. I didn’t even look up there since I thought it would be too claustrophobic.  The bunks were like coffins. Nobody slept well. If any one of us had to get up to pee in the middle of the night, I am sure everyone woke up.

There was a rickety outhouse this far away across a creek.

Here is a picture of part of our crew inside. I took this from my bunk. There was not enough room inside for everyone to be up at any time. Some of us needed to be in bunks to fit. The two ladies staring up are talking to the ladies in the loft above. They were sitting there with their feet hanging down over the table.

Here I am, refusing all my life sharing even a hotel room with a workmate all these years, with a minimum hotel grade standard, and lifetime Hilton Diamond membership. This was by far the coziest I have ever slept with twelve other people literally within an arm’s reach.

After the tiny hut, Hut 4 seemed luxurious. There were ten double bunks (about four feet wide). So most people could stretch out, but the two couples, Trisha and I being one of them, had to double-bunk, so we only had a shoulder-width for each of us.

Hut 5 is the oldest hut in the highlands and it is said to be haunted. It was the only one occupied by a caretaker, which they call warden. She told us some ghost stories before we went to sleep.

There was also an outhouse with two toilets and running water, but it was literally 200 yards away. Quite a walk in the middle of the night. At the right there is a grill table where the guides cooked a leg of lamb for dinner.

Here is a view of Hut 5 from the end of the trail where the bathroom was. You can see how long a trip it was to “go.”

In addition to bunks with mattresses, the huts have assortments of dishes, like plates, bowls and cups, knives, forks and spoons, and some pots and pans, to prepare food for as many people as there are sleeping accommodations. The dishes are in some state of disrepair. For instance, many coffee cups have handles broken off and plates and bowls are sometimes chipped.

But there was always plenty of toilet paper. There must be a Costco on the island.