Hornstrandir vs Laugavegurrin in mid June

Is it possible to do these solo?

Most people do them solo. But I think if you are going to pay a guiding company to take you it would b e better value for money to pay them to take you somewhere where finding your way is trickier. But you are going rather early in the season when many of the more interesting treks are not open yet, or at least not reliably so, so there might be not very much on offer at that time.

I'm surprised you couldn't find anyone offering these tours. There are many organised departures on the Laugarvegur trek: this operator has about 30 departures per season:
http://www.mountainguides.is/multi-day-tours/trekking-tours/

There are also people offering Hornstrandir. eg http://www.trekkinginiceland.com/coastaltreks/lostfjords/ But as you can see they only have 3 departures all season. My friend Dick Phillips, who used to be a trekking operator in Iceland, gave up operating Hornstrandir treks long ago because of insufficient demand.

But if you were looking for a departure specifically on 17 June, then it doesn't surprise me you were unlucky. It is early in the season and they aren't daily even in the very height of season. Also, some years the roads to Landmannalaugar are still not open on 17 June, occasionally even on 20 June, so there is a risk to your plan. Though doing the trek in reverse would reduce the risk, as by 20/21 June it is getting much less likely the road will still be closed. This year some bus operators are claiming to operate buses to L as early as 10 June, which is earlier than they have ever offered before, but they don't always find themselves able to operate the early runs, even when they have advertised 15 June as the start. The indication from Iceland is that the winter is hard this year, so roads could be late to open this year. Though these things in part depend upon the willingness of the roads admin to send a bulldozer to open the road.

The boats to Hornstrandir are not every day either, at least not to every port of call, and early season the boats are less frequent, so you'd better check the boat schedules.

Thank you very much for the reply! I really appreciate all the info. Unfortunately, the 17th through the 20th is the only time that works for me on this trip. I really want to do Hornstrandir, because I hear it is off the beaten path and so I will have the place more to myself!
I have the 13th through 15th and 17th through 20th open, but I have to be in Reykjavik on the 16th for a personal event.

I was planning to do a 3 day Thorsmork trek 13th to 15th, and then laugavegurrin or Hornstrandir on the 17th to 20th.
Do you have alternate and realistic suggestions?
As you may have guessed, I am really trying to get away from everything con this trip :)

Would you suggest a different itinerary?

Google Hornstrandir boat schedules, like I suggested. Since you need to have a certain amount of self-reliance if you think you can trek in the wilderness and not be a danger to yourself, I'm not going to spoonfeed you by showing you the result you will find. But I will tell you that you should discover that it is perfectly feasible to trek there on precisely the dates you require. By good fortune, one useful route has its first run on 17 June... But there are other options and you would still have been able to do it even if that one wasn't running. Now get yourself a trekking map of the area and work out the route possibilities that match the ferries that are running. And do remember that sometimes weather prevents those boats running so leave yourself a day in hand at some point in your schedule so you don't miss your flight home.

Yes, I already have the routes planned and the boat schedules. But you misunderstood my question. I was wondering if there was a different trek you would suggest as someone who seems to know the area well. If not, no worries and thanks again for the feedback.

From what you say, Hornstrandir sounds like a very good option for you.

There are also some possibilities in the Eastfjords, as indicated by the mapping and route descriptions here, some of which are suitable for June trekking. http://nat.is/gonguleidireng/gonguleidir_viknaslodir_al.htm But the ones that involve inland high passes can still be snowed in in mid-June. The road to Lodmundarfjordur may still be closed to traffic that early.

For Hornstrandir so early in the season, you may find some difficult snow corniches on the passes. Actually if you're planning to do Skogar Thorsmork, there was a difficult steep snow traverse of about 10 meter.

Fords can also be tricky.

iviehoff and willemspie, thank you very much for all the useful information! I am leaning towards Hornstrandir, but will heed to your cautionary notes as well. I did not expect issues with snow in mid june... maybe so eday I will go back later in the summer to do the fjords. Thanks again!

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