After visiting the Mývatn area, we turned back west to Iceland’s second largest city, Akureyri, on the western shore of Eyjafjörður. Five kilometers above town, Hlídarfjall Ski Center is one of the country’s best ski areas, we read, with 20 kilometers of cross-country routes in addition to downhill runs. And February was known for having some of the best …
Author Archives: Justin
Little snow, lot of wind in Iceland’s Mývatn
Our plan in traveling to Iceland in February was to cross-country ski, and since there was no extra fee on our flights we packed our own gear. It wasn’t to be, however. The six-hour drive northeast from Reykjavík to the Mývatn area – our first destination outside of the capital – looked promising. The mountains …
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Return to familiar Reykjavík
There’s something to be said for traveling somewhere you’ve been before, especially a foreign country. When we landed about 7 a.m. at Iceland’s Keflavík International Airport in February, it was dark and snowing. Fortunately, everything was familiar – we rented our SUV from the same company and as in 2012, the drive into Reykjavík was …
A look at Iceland in winter
After spending the better part of 10 days in Iceland in mid-February, we’d go back any time. While many of the mountain areas are unreachable in a rental vehicle in winter, there’s plenty accessible in other parts of the country. And it’s clear from both this trip and our previous visit, in the summer, that …
Back to Iceland, in winter
Last time we traveled to Iceland, it was late summer and we got stranded in a snowstorm. Now, we’re going back – in winter. Why? The country is beautiful, and spending most of two days waiting out the storm in a cold farmhouse resulted in us missing some areas and activities of interest. We’ll be …
Spires and ice in Blodgett Canyon
With its towering rocky spires, Blodgett Canyon is a geological highlight of the Bitterroot Mountains for summer visitors. In winter, however, it becomes a frozen wonderland. And while it’s quite popular in warmer months, it seems hardly anyone goes there in the snow. On New Year’s Day, for example, we saw four other people, and …
Welcome to Trails + Travels
A new year, a new blog – welcome to Trails + Travels! Really, this is a continuation of my old blog, Hike MT. I was beginning to feel it was too limiting both in its name, which easily could be changed, and in its design, which seemed less easy to alter considering it was a …
TRAILS + TRAVELS 