Hiking in southern Iceland.

"There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!"

"There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!"

The words of my Icelandic friend Gudmundur ringing through my mind as the rain dripped from the hood of my raincoat. I had met G on another trip a few years previous in Antarctica and while he wasn't joining me on this trip we had time for a catch up in Reykjavik before I set off on my Southern Iceland hiking tour! The weather was glorious when I arrived, we even managed to get a round of golf in during my brief visit.

It was over lunch that he reminded me of what he had said in Antarctica. "The weather is great now but this is Iceland so I hope you brought the right clothing!"

"Don't worry G, I'm from Ireland, I know the story."

The following day I met the rest of the hiking group early before setting off on the southern ring road, the fine weather holding firm for the first couple of days as we made our way to Skaftafell, a nature reserve located in Vatnajökull national park. Our first two days were incredible, stopping at the spectacular Seljalandsfoss waterfall on day 1 before hiking to the top of Skógafoss waterfall and trekking along the river that fuels it, marked with spectacular canyons, rapids and cascades along its length. On day 2 we hiked on the Falljökull glacier, a tongue of Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Europe. Once again the weather was in our favour as we set foot on the glacier, the sun glinting off the icy landscape.

We awoke on day 3 however to a different scene, the skies were dark and heavy and with the weather not looking likely to improve we set off regardless. After a stop at the jökulsárlónglacier lagoon and a walk on diamond beach where huge icy chunks come to rest on the black sand it was time to embark on the biggest hike of the tour at the majestic Múlagljúfur canyon.

As we arrived at the canyon any hopes of a miraculous change in the conditions failed to materialise so we donned our rain gear and set off.

The Múlagljúfur canyon in southern Iceland is a hidden gem and is well off the beaten path for most tourists due to it's isolated location and on this day we were the only ones brave enough to take it on. As we started down in to the canyon along the scree filled slopes the rain was unrelenting. "What on Earth am I doing here?" It didn't get any easier as the path then wound it's way upwards towards the canyon rim. There's no place for looking around to take it all in on a day like this, head down, one foot in front of the other and watch every step.

Onwards and upwards we trudged along the winding path as the rain dripped from my hood and streamed down my face, I promise they weren't tears.

"There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!"

Eventually the seemingly endless vertical path came to a plateau and I realised we had made it to the top of the ridge, the majesty of this incredible canyon laid bare on all sides.

The rain also seemed to lighten off, it didn't stop altogether, this isn't a fairytale unlike the canyon itself which seems like it has been plucked directly from some mythical land.

Think of impossibly steep cliff faces, canyons jutting off in all directions, birds soaring through the mist created by numerous waterfalls thundering over the edge fuelled by that morning's rain.

Suddenly there were no thoughts about how tough the trek was in these conditions, standing in this spot taking in this incredible view was worth every rain sodden step.

I was bone dry underneath anyway.

"There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!" True words my friend!

Iceland is synonymous with winter holidays, particularly to view the Northern Lights however it's also a fantastic summer destination which opens up so many other activities, just make sure you pack all the right clothing!

Would you like to explore Iceland on a hiking tour or even something less strenuous? Get in touch and I'll get you there.