Our day started in the usual fashion – a breakfast of muesli, porridge, crackers, cheese, processed meats and various spreads, followed by the making of our packed lunches out of more-or-less the same ingredients. Then, once Kjartan had showed us our route for the day on the map,
![Daily summary of trail we will hike - Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-daily-plan-map.jpg)
off we set up the relatively steep hill behind Strútur hut.
![Climbing the ridge above the Strútur Hut - Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-above-Strútur-hut.jpg)
The first part of today’s hike saw us traversing the black volcanic sand plain of Mýrdalssandur
![Crossing the black volcanic sands of Mýrdalssandur - Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-crossing-Mýrdalssandur-black-volcanic-plain.jpg)
with a stone cairn marking one of the old travel routes from the 9th century (did you know it is illegal to add rocks to cairns in Iceland?)
![Stone wayfinding cairn from the 9th century- Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-stone-cairn.jpg)
and the Mýrdalssandur glacier bordering our southern side.
![Mýrdalssandur glacier above the black volcanic plain- Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-Mýrdalssandur-glacier.jpg)
We took our lunch at the base of a small pass
![Lunch on the black volcanic sand with the Mýrdalssandur glacier in the background - Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-lunch-black-volcanic-plain.jpg)
and I hiked up the hill behind to see what the next valley looked like from on high. Wow! What a view! And completely different to the valley we’d just been hiking through. Absolutely worth the effort of the climb!
![View into the next valley from the hill above our lunch on the black volcanic sands of Mýrdalssandur - Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-view-from-ridge-Day-4.jpg)
In both the trek schedule provided by Icelandic Mountain Guides and in Kjartan’s briefing that morning, we’d been warned that we would need our river shoes handy for the next section of the hike. We started hiking across the river valley in our normal boots
![Hiking towards a wide series of river channels - Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-Day4-hike.jpg)
but at some point, even the most stubborn of us (hello Leigh! 😉 ) had to admit defeat and change into our river shoes.
![Trekking companions wading through river channels - Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-Day4-river-crossings.jpg)
Those who had sandals would take them off to walk on the soft, cushiony moss between the river channels
![Trekking companions walking barefoot between the river channels - Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-barefoot.jpg)
as we slowly worked our way through the marsh for the next half hour.
![Arctic cottongrass in the river valley - Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-cottongrass-indicates-wet.jpg)
We then climbed one final small pass
![Climbing the final pass of Day 4 - Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-Day4-final-pass.jpg)
to end our day at yet another very comfortable hut at the mouth of the Hvanngil valley.
![Hvanngil Hut - Volcanic Trails - Central Highlands, Iceland](http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hiking-Iceland-Volcanic-Trails-Hvanngil-Hut.jpg)
Trekking Information
Distance = 14.3km
Time taken = 6 hours
Map
Altitude Profile
Read more about hiking In the Shadow of Vatnajökull
If this post has piqued your curiosity, read about the rest of the 7-day trek with Icelandic Mountain Guides
- Day 1 – Reykjavik to Hólaskjól via Eldgjá
- Day 2 – from Hólaskjól to Álftavötn
- Day 3 – from Álftavötn to Strútur
- Day 4 – from Strútur to Hvanngil
- Day 5 – from Hvanngil to Álftavatn
- Day 6 – from Álftavatn to Dalakofinn
- Day 7 – from Dalakofinn to Reykjavík via Landmannalaugar
Alternatively, check out my other posts about hiking and trekking in Iceland and around the world.