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Hiking / backpacking in Iceland is quite different to hiking / backpacking in more "mature" hiking-culture-countries. There are some reasons for this statement, of course. Roads were not made or created on the island until the 19 hundreds. The soft sheep-skin shoes my ancestors wore did not make marks so easily on the ground when they were walking between districts for seasonal fishing or other reasons. Only on the most used paths, cairns of stones were built to guide the traveler across heaths or other areas where visibility would often be quite limited, especially in winter when the snow has been blown about and created flatness with no shelter and wiping out all landmarks. These cairns can still be seen - for example in the Westfjords as in North East Iceland. Really, all around the island. Carriages were not used: If horses were used, they would carry the load as there were no roads. Simple as that. 

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So - there are no "ancient" trails to use. The most popular trail in Iceland, the Laugavegur trail is a "creation" of the good folks at Ferðafélag Íslands (Iceland Touring Association) a few decades ago. The popular trail across Fimmvorduhals (Five Cairns Pass) was "lost" most of the time of the "little ice age" (ca. 1400 - 1900) - and covered with glacier ice until late 18 hundreds. The "trail" from Laki across Sidujokull, which is marked on recently published maps could be a death trap, as it suggests fording Hverfisfljot river where there is no ford anymore. Similar conditions are regarding other, recent maps. They are, simply put, wrong. Rivers are not flowing where they did a few years back (or just last year) and in some cases, eruptions and lava flows have blocked roads in the interior. Worse still, some maps show paths for driving where it is illegal to drive i.e. off road driving. At least, this is the case with the Iceland map on my Garmin GPS. I consider my new Garmin Iceland map a misleading source of information. Even life-threatening. So - the outsider should not take maps with marked hiking trails too seriously. Even "new" ones might be out of date.

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But - there is a lot in the positive department. Fist of all: there are no animals to fear. The only native mammal is the Arctic Fox. Rabies has never here and there are no reptiles. The only living thing, which can be irritating is the midge but this bug is easily avoided with anti-mosquito-stuff (spray or lotion). I usually take two-nights-out-in-the open hike on my own before the actual hiking season starts around mid-June. As we have daylight 24/7 at this time of the year, one can walk about when one feels like walking and take a nap whenever one desires to do so. Just remember to cover the face when taking a nap in sunshine. Another thing is, that vast areas of the interior are "open". At least, this is a positive thing for those who like the untouched and untamed Nature. 

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Consequently, I can state that hiking in Iceland can be quite a unique experience. One just has to respect Nature. Nature is unforgiving and there is no "replay" button in the game of being out in the wild up here. Correct clothing, correct training, quality gear and - most important - the awareness of how quickly weather can change. No cotton clothes and good raingear is vital. And http://safetravel.is/ should be checked before heading out into the wilderness. Making a realistic hiking plan - and leaving it with the safetravel.is people is a must.  My friend Kinga has this to say about preparations for backpacking in Iceland: http://floatingmyboat.com/how-prepare-trekking-iceland-practical-information-multi-day-off-path-trekking-vatnajokull/  I think she covers things quite thoroughly.   

 

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