Crossing Iceland

Back in school, I was almost always the very last one to finish the yearly physical condition test (running a couple of kilometers). Physical exercise and gymnastics was something I hated above everything. I'm not saying that I'm an athlete today - far from it - but just recently I finished a 330 km (205 mile) hiking trip with 31 kg (about 68 pounds) of initial weight on my back - a hike many times tougher than the yearly physical test in school. Some days I hiked over 30 kilometers, especially the last day which went from 170 meters above sea level to 1041 meters then down to sea level - a 31 kilometer hike in one strenuous push lasting 16 hours with 25 kg on my back. I am far from a bragging macho type - I just love to do one thing I feel the human being is made for - travels of endurance in the natural world. Would we really have travelled from Africa if we weren't travelers by nature?

The decision to walk across Iceland was spontaneous and I had only about a month's time to plan my route, make travel arrangements, acquire additional funds and gear, etc. I wanted to put my planning abilities, my outdoor experience, my mental capacity (and my ego) to the test and see if I could pull something like this off.

You can do this too!

I have never spent any time in a gym. The only exercise I have ever really done in my life has been hiking - which is far more rewarding than any unnatural fitness center can offer. On this site I want to inspire people to travel on foot in the natural world and get an understanding of the true environment and how unnatural our western way of life really is. Many people consider spending one week in the wild a long time, and one month in the wild a little too long than they think they can handle - it all matters where you go of course, but I want to inspire to the longer travels simply because you experience something more than you do in just a week. Carrying 30 kg instead of 25 is really not that much of a difference, and you'd be surprised of how little food you really need for a month - we simply eat way too much in the west.

The full story of the crossing of Iceland will be told in the documentary film Iceland Traverse 2006 which will be freely available for download later this year.

Michel Blomgren
Contact info
www.bushcraft.se