{"id":10954,"date":"2023-08-17T13:54:32","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T20:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christofteuscher.com\/aagaa\/?p=10954"},"modified":"2023-08-29T15:58:14","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T22:58:14","slug":"news-unsupported-375mi-iceland-traverse-fkt-attempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christofteuscher.com\/aagaa\/news-unsupported-375mi-iceland-traverse-fkt-attempt\/","title":{"rendered":"NEWS: Unsupported 375mi Iceland Traverse FKT Attempt"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\r\n UPDATE (Aug 27, 2023): Finished the traverse at 4:34pm on Aug 27, 2023. See report<\/a> for more details and photos.\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\nO<\/span>n Sat, Aug 19, 2023, I plan to start for an unsupported<\/a> and solo FKT attempt to traverse Iceland<\/a> north to south. The route is approximately 375mi (604km) long and connects the northernmost<\/a> with the southernmost<\/a> lighthouse. Unsupported<\/a> means I will carry all my supplies from the beginning to the end and will only rely on natural water sources.\n
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The 375mi Iceland traverse. It somehow feels a little too ambitious.<\/p><\/div>\n

The route and current FKTs<\/h3>\n

The 375mi (give or take) North-South Iceland traverse FKT route<\/a> was introduced and first completed self-supported in 2018 by Meredith Quinlan and Jess Baker<\/a> in 7d\u00a0<\/span>13h\u00a0<\/span>50m<\/span><\/a>. The route starts at the Hraunhafnartangi lighthouse<\/a>, the northernmost lighthouse, and ends at the Dyrh\u00f3laey lighthouse<\/a>, the southernmost lighthouse. The Hraunhafnartangi lighthouse<\/a> is located only about 800 meters south of the Arctic Circle. The route includes the famous Laugavegur trail<\/a> between Landmannalaugar<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0\u00de\u00f3rsm\u00f6rk<\/a>. National Geographic listed the trail as one of the most beautiful trails in the world.<\/p>\n

Eli Burakian<\/a> currently holds the unsupported FKT in 13d\u00a0<\/span>2h\u00a0<\/span>45m<\/span><\/a>. He logged about 375mi. Glen Baddeley<\/a> set a supported FKT in 2022 in 10d\u00a0<\/span>11h\u00a0<\/span>26m\u00a0<\/span>30s<\/span><\/a> by running the “East Coast<\/a>” route between the two lighthouses. That 460mi route essentially follows roads on the East coast of Iceland.<\/p>\n

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The Hraunhafnartangi<\/a> (northernmost) and Dyrh\u00f3laey<\/a> (southernmost) lighthouses. Image credits: LEFT – TommyBee<\/a>\u00a0\/ Public Domain<\/a>. RIGHT –\u00a0PJT56 \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a> (used with permission).<\/p><\/div>\n

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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.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Fun fact: a comparison of the size of my home country (Switzerland) with the size of Iceland.<\/p><\/div>\n

Dot watching<\/h3>\n

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