Highland trek leader
GunnarÞórisson
“Walk slowly. The valley is not going anywhere.”
- Based in
- Skógar, Iceland
- Guiding since
- 2015
- Languages
- Icelandic, English
- Leads
- The Highland Traverse
About Gunnar
Gunnar was born in Skógar, at the foot of Eyjafjallajökull, and runs the museum’s summer hut when he is not guiding. He has walked the Laugavegur about forty times and Fimmvörðuháls more than a hundred, and can tell you which stone in which stream is loose.
He trained as a carpenter, built three of the huts that Nordvik uses, and joined the team in 2015 when the first Highland Traverse needed a leader who could also fix a door. He carries a small folding saw and has used it twice on the trail, both times on a bridge.
Gunnar leads the Highland Traverse and co-leads the Ring of Fire and Ice. He speaks slowly and rarely repeats himself.
The river that was not there
In July 2021 a glacier burst raised the Markarfljót overnight and washed out the footbridge below Emstrur. Gunnar was already on the trail with a group of seven. He walked the bank for an hour, found a braid that was knee-deep, and led the group across in a line, with poles.
“The valley changes every year,” he says. “That is why I never walk it the same way twice.”
Leads
The Highland Traverse
9 days, Jul to Aug, from €4,200
