Tender Loving Airsoft Care
present icelandthe land of fire and ice 300 km walk in complete autonomy after different experiences of autonomously extreme trekking on the alps and in the desert, this time we decided to go further, we wanted to do something to push our boundaries and limits. we wanted to experience something a bit more extreme. the idea of this journey was born to challenge ourselves. so, we chose iceland because it’s an unexplored country, a land with great natural beauty, where you can walk hundreds of kilometers and most probably you would meet no one. the population density of iceland is really low; we are talking about 300,000
living in an area almost as big as italy. for this kind of trip, you surely need good topographic maps, a cartographic gps, a compass with a global needle, a solar panel to charge the batteries during all eight days of the trip. you need dehydrated but also light and nourishing food, a really good tent, a self-inflating mattress, a good sleeping bag, and most of all a good pair of hiking boots. you have to think of everything: food, water, change of clothes, the route to follow, everything that you might need to take on this challenge. you cannot underestimate any of these aspects, everything is important. from milan it takes 3 hours by plane to land in reykjavik, the capital of iceland,
and it takes about 6 hours by bus to reach the heart of the island, a touristic place with the unpronounceable name of landmannalaugar that is exactly in the center of the island. to go back to reykjavik, stopping by where we planned at the beginning, it should have taken 8 days by foot without breaks, calculating an average of about 35 km per day. the first day spirit is always high, even if you leave behind schedule and because of the rain you can expect no good. during this kind of ventures, you don’t make the trip only with boots and clocking up the miles, your thoughts fly away and they have infinite space where to go, it looks like your problems and thoughts disappear and you feel like your mind opens. during the planning, we thought we would have stopped for lunch, to eat maybe under a tree, a canopy or some kind of shelter,
but then it’s not like that. when you walk, it’s raining and there’s no kind of shelter, you have no choice than to keep on going, eat some snacks, something that can give you enough energy to get to the night. setting up every day your tent in the rain is exhausting, you only think of making some kind of shelter to take a break from the rain. you have to put up your tent before 8 or 8.30 pm, otherwise it gets more complicated in the dark. thanks to our good choice of the tent, we managed to sleep on a dry surface, because we would first set up the outside of the tent and then the inside.
in this way, we could set up and take down the tent in the rain every day. without this kind of tent we couldn’t have completed this venture, we might have to give up the second day. meals at night were good, i thought they might not taste good but i was wrong, they were good and hearty, thank god, since they were the only real meals of the day. food was all dehydrated, it didn’t need the refrigerator. it was a kind of food that absorbing hot water turned into pasta, couscous, beef or chicken, well-thought to give you enough calories and energy to get through long days of walking. water is a problem, because the backpack is already pretty heavy, that’s why you have to carry with you the strictest essentials.
we had one liter, maximum one liter and a half. at night, before setting up the tent, thanks to our map, we would look for a river, trying to find out where we could purify water, using appropriate filters and purifying tablets. in this kind of ventures, the worst moment is when you are out of gas, when your boots are soaked, your jacket is soaked, you are all completely soaked, you are tired and cold and you just want to go back home. in these moments whether you find the strength within yourself or it’s over, nobody can help you. you have to hold on to anything and go a head, because getting through that difficult moment could mean reaching your goal. otherwise you have to give up.
the icelandic area is extensive, it’s natural, and walking through it for days meeting no one, it just gives you the feeling of isolation and emptiness, you feel so small in front of nature. especially if you know that if it happens anything to you, most probably the rescue team might arrive after a whole day. this difficulty makes you realize that you can only rely on your willpower, your fortitude. before thinking of muscles, you have to make it through with your own strength, expanding your limits, taking them further and further, this is a priceless feeling, it makes you feel alive, and i think it’s the best feeling in the world. when you see the gps display that shows 300 km, it’s an indescribable feeling. you realize you did it, all your efforts were worth it, the goal has been reached, you planned the right schedule, the equipment held out. you are not tired anymore because suddenly everything makes sense.
right that moment, you realize you did it, you have walked for 300 km by yourselfwith your backpack, your friend and a lot of rain.
