Hveravellir is a geothermal area in the middle of Iceland, roughly halfway along the Kjölur route between Gullfoss and the north coast. It sits between two glaciers, Langjökull and Hofsjökull. We had been waiting for a clear day to go, and this was it.

We left the campground early and drove north. The weather was fair on the way in, and by the time we arrived it had turned to full sun.

A word on the road first. It is Route 35 the whole way, not an F road, because the rivers on it were bridged. But when the asphalt ends there are about 89 miles of dirt that look exactly like one. It is not bad as these things go. There are innumerable potholes, of every size possible. We aired down the tires before starting to make the whole thing tolerable to us and the equipment. The only F road here is F735, and that is 1.5 mile, the spur into the geothermal area.

We hiked the geothermal area first. Steam comes off the ground in a dozen places, and the springs have stained the earth around them in oranges and reds and a pale blue-white where the silica has settled. Everything smells a little bit of Sulphur. It is a small area and you can walk it slowly in an hour.

After lunch we hiked out to Eyvindarrétt and Eyvindarhellir. These are named after Fjalla-Eyvindur, an Icelandic outlaw born in 1714. He and his wife Halla fled into the highlands after 1760 and lived out here for years. Eyvindarhellir is the cave he sheltered in, a low gap under a rock with a wall built across the front. Eyvindarrétt is a stone enclosure a short walk away. Standing at the cave, you understand quickly why they chose this spot and no other. There is nothing to eat, nothing to burn, and no shelter anywhere. But there is hot water coming out of the ground, and that is the whole reason it was possible at all.

Langjökull was in the background the entire walk and most of the drive. It is the big flat-topped ice cap to the west, the second largest in Iceland, and from here it fills the horizon. On the other side of it is where Carioca got stuck when we went to visit the ice tunnel.

By the second hike the weather had turned mixed. Dark clouds came over the higher ground, and some of them were sitting low, probably right down at the road. It made us think about what it would be like driving 35 in that.

We decided to stay the night. That gives us an early start tomorrow for our next stop at Hveradalir. Hopefully the weather improves. Looks like we will have a lot of wind during the night.