Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.07.2016, Qupperneq 60

Blazing Trails
Chas Geomans and his Trail Team
volunteers are caring for Þórsmörk
Words & Photos JOHN ROGERS
60 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 9 — 2016TRAVEL
Other than the Volcano Huts and
a couple of small farms, one of
the only regularly inhabited spots
in the wild expanse of Þórsmörk
is Húsadalur, on the edge of the
Krossá valley. There’s not much
there: a campsite, a shower block
and, tucked away behind some
trees, a small, unobtrusive camp
with some a tool sheds, a kitch-
en, a communal seating area and
snack shop.
For several months of the year,
this place is home to a group of in-
ternational volunteers who, under
the guidance of organiser Chas
Geomans, will spend the sum-
mer helping to maintain and re-
store the region's 70km network of
trails and paths.
Chas is a quiet fellow who boils
up some water for coffee while he
explains his work. “We maintain
the trails,” he explains, “and we
work on improving access, and
generally keeping the place nice.
We do erosion control, and a bit
of work with invasive plants. If we
want to encourage a variety of lo-
cal flora and fauna, we can’t have a
monoculture of lupin fields. That
part is a bit controversial. But we
just check its spread and try to be
careful about it."
Þórsmörk is, surprisingly, not
a national park, but is rather un-
der the jurisdiction of the forestry
service, who've helped fund the
initiative for the past few years.
Children of the forest
“It’s expensive to be here, even
though it’s volunteer work,” ex-
plains Chas. “We need good
transport, tools, food, equip-
ment. That money comes from the
state—from the forestry commis-
sion, and an organisation called
Friends of Þórsmörk who apply for
funding.”
As well as these organisations,
there are various tourism com-
panies, school groups and hiking
groups who come to use the area.
Chas speaks fondly about the har-
mony that exists between this wil-
derness community.
“We have all kinds of organisa-
tions here,” he says, "and they're
all friends and partners. There’s
a special atmosphere between ev-
eryone. People are running differ-
ent businesses and such, but it all
works very well. For example, the
bus company gave us seventy free
tickets to get our volunteers here.
They don’t ask for much from us—
they just want to help.”
Respecting the nature
The wood used to make steps and
irrigation channels is all provided
by the forestry commission. “We
get off-cuts that aren’t much use
commercially,” explains Chas.
“They can’t be turned into boards
because they’re too small. They’d
probably chip it, if we didn’t use
it. Be we can turn it into steps.
We come from the conservation
angle, so we’re always trying to do
low-impact work, using natural
materials."
"Þórsmörk has a special place
in the heart of Icelanders,” fin-
ishes Chas. “A lot of them came
here as children. And many people
want to walk these fragile trails.
It’s a special place, and the con-
servation element is really impor-
tant."
Find out more, or volunteer to help
maintain Þórsmörk, at trailteam.is.
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