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Iceland Star Grab: Winter Edition
- Thread starter whereisgibson
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"I think I'm learning trepidation. There is so much less that I can explore with this truck than I can do with a dirtbike. This seems obvious when typed out, but I have been gauging terrain using criteria suitable for two wheels. "Yeah I can get over / through / around that". Nope! Stuck! Shit! A dirtbike can always be dragged out. I turned around here, the water was maybe half a meter deep, but there was no ramp to get out - I think a Super Jeep had fallen through the ice and clambered out over the lip."
youve always got a roof over your head and somewhere to shelter with a truck though.. great pics. your a braver man than me not having winter tyres on with them kind of icy conditions. how low have the temps got? what mapping worked for you in the end? are you getting wifi in the smaller villages?
youve always got a roof over your head and somewhere to shelter with a truck though.. great pics. your a braver man than me not having winter tyres on with them kind of icy conditions. how low have the temps got? what mapping worked for you in the end? are you getting wifi in the smaller villages?
whereisgibson
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No idea how cold it got, probably only maybe -10. I had a inflatable double mattress raising maybe 10cm off the deck as a base layer, a summer duvet as a bedsheet, then a -5 sleeping bag, then a -50 bag on top, with a union jack double duvet and pillows. Often woke up too hot! The ACSD was removed just before the trip, and the truck only struggled starting once with a low idle. Iceland isn't that cold, the wind however made me glad I didn't bring a tipi or tent as the truck body was often lifting and squatting like when you handbrake on a hill-start. I think one night had 80mph. No drama inside the truck, and parking into the wind allowed me to open the tailgate and cook on the lower ledge, closing the upper to keep in the heat.
Mapping was planned on a big paper map, with Android CoPilot for getting from A to B (but often overriding the route it suggested based on knowledge from the paper map), and Android Viewranger for recording GPX. Any new destination required checking http://road.is to see what roads were open / closed / dangerous.
Wifi is in nearly all hostels, which are always my preference when not camping. I also have unlimited data abroad and can link this to my laptop; Iceland generally has good data coverage until you go to the interior, which is virtually impossible in Winter unless part of an expedition of some sort.
Mapping was planned on a big paper map, with Android CoPilot for getting from A to B (but often overriding the route it suggested based on knowledge from the paper map), and Android Viewranger for recording GPX. Any new destination required checking http://road.is to see what roads were open / closed / dangerous.
Wifi is in nearly all hostels, which are always my preference when not camping. I also have unlimited data abroad and can link this to my laptop; Iceland generally has good data coverage until you go to the interior, which is virtually impossible in Winter unless part of an expedition of some sort.
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Thanks gibson 
enjoy the rest of your trip mate.
enjoy the rest of your trip mate.
whereisgibson
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Day 11
I woke up right outside Geysir, which hasn't gone off for quite a few years, but is the reason we call these things "geysers"! This was the original. And not doing much at all.
Whilst being in the Golden Circle I thought it was worth having another visit to Gulfoss when there was a little more light, as it was just down the road.
As I now needed to set myself up to return the car the next day, I headed out to the peninsula where the international airport is. I've always assumed that the area where airports are would be a bit boring, but how wrong was I. You can drive the original highway 1 here, mostly in disrepair, and mostly gravel. It winds up and around the geography, where the new road just cuts through. Great fun playing with the CDL and tearing along at motorway speeds for miles on end.
I headed off to find my last night's camping
I woke up right outside Geysir, which hasn't gone off for quite a few years, but is the reason we call these things "geysers"! This was the original. And not doing much at all.
Whilst being in the Golden Circle I thought it was worth having another visit to Gulfoss when there was a little more light, as it was just down the road.
As I now needed to set myself up to return the car the next day, I headed out to the peninsula where the international airport is. I've always assumed that the area where airports are would be a bit boring, but how wrong was I. You can drive the original highway 1 here, mostly in disrepair, and mostly gravel. It winds up and around the geography, where the new road just cuts through. Great fun playing with the CDL and tearing along at motorway speeds for miles on end.
I headed off to find my last night's camping
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whereisgibson
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- Dec 11, 2010
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Day 12
Woke up and drove the short distance to Reykiavik. Eimskip only take cars on work days, so Friday was as long as I could keep the car given my flight on Sunday. This suited me fine as I wanted to spend some time enjoying the city anyway.
Before dropping the truck off I though it would be a missed opportunity to pop into Arctic Trucks' showroom. I think I was expecting lots of stock and a gleaming truck showroom! Instead of doing them a disservice, I shall instead present a picture of this beasty [that you can also rent!]:
Bye bye LC80, see you in a few weeks!
Woke up and drove the short distance to Reykiavik. Eimskip only take cars on work days, so Friday was as long as I could keep the car given my flight on Sunday. This suited me fine as I wanted to spend some time enjoying the city anyway.
Before dropping the truck off I though it would be a missed opportunity to pop into Arctic Trucks' showroom. I think I was expecting lots of stock and a gleaming truck showroom! Instead of doing them a disservice, I shall instead present a picture of this beasty [that you can also rent!]:
Bye bye LC80, see you in a few weeks!
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Ditto, really enjoyed, and appreciated all the Arctic Trucks pics too
BTW, it's been -18C here, so we have something in common 
Really enjoyed this one too Martin. I'm surprised Geysir wasn't going off. It was going every 8-10 minutes when we were there about 2 years ago. Flipping freezing it was with all the moisture in the air. Even 'Littli Geysir' was going. I had just assumed it went off without fail all day every day.
Great trip, I'd love to do it some day.
Great trip, I'd love to do it some day.
