In July, we spent three days hiking through the Icelandic highlands on the 56km Laugavegur Trail. Temperatures were between 8-11ºC/46-51ºF during the day and around 3ºC/37ºF at night. We currently live in the Isle of Man which has a very moderate climate, so we’re used to these types of temperatures. You’d be comfortable in long pants, long sleeve shirt, a fleece, beanie and gloves while you’re walking, but when you stop moving the sweat really starts to chill and I was thankful for having some warmer clothing to wear when walking around camp. There was always at least a light breeze when we were there, which really makes it feel much colder.
Clothes
This trail was absolutely beautiful, but reminded us why we don’t like camping in winter – it’s cold! If you’re tent camping, rather than staying in the huts, I would absolutely recommend bringing a few extra layers to be cozy.
- Hiking pants – 1
- Thermal top and bottoms – 1
- hiking tank top – 2
- Long sleeve hiking top – 1
- short sleeve hiking top – 1
- fleece pullover – 1
- hiking socks – 2 pair
- hiking/running underwear – 2
- water shoes -1 pair* river crossings in Iceland are no joke (and freezing AF) so you’ll be glad you brought these
- hiking boots – 1 pair
- waterproof wind breaker -1
- down jacket -1
- waterproof pants – 1
- gloves – 1
- buff – 1
- neck gaiter – 1
- swim suit (for thermal pools) -1
- beanie * we forgot this but I wished I had one!
Cookware
We cooked all of our own food for every meal. If you’re staying in the huts, you may be have your meals prepared for you, but since we were camping we carried all of our own food. There was a restaurant/bar at Alftavatn lake at the campsite at the end of day 1 or 2 (depending on if you combine stages 1 and 2 or not), but we were so tired we ate our camp meal then went straight to bed. I would recommend buying the camping stove fuel from the gas station that is right next to the Bus Station in Reykjavik, they seemed to have the best selection and we couldn’t find them in super markets in town.
- 1 small-sized pot
- spoon/fork combo
- collapsible bowl
- metal mug
- 2 1L water bottles
- MSR camping stove
- camping stove gas
Gear
- trekking poles
- bungee cord clothes line
- digital camera
- headlamp
- flashlight
- sleeping bag
- thermal sleeping bag liner (our sleeping bags weren’t get for low temperatures, we’ve since upgraded)
- thermarest sleeping pad
- inflatable pillow
- Nemo dagger 3 person tent
- Osprey 50L backpack
Toiletries
- travel toothpaste
- travel toothbrush
- shampoo/body-wash combo
- first aid kit
Food
Here’s what we ate for 3 days on the Laugavegur trail + a shopping list.
Soulfull Explorers 