Area: Borgarnes, Iceland
Hafnarfjall dominates Borgarnes, where I had camped after Baula. It is a classic 'signature peak', a constant presence and a fundamental part of the town's identity. It is obvious, however, that it is a collection of summits, not just one, so I was eager to see how that might unfold as I set off up the obvious marked path from the other side of the bridge across the fjord from the narrow isthmus the town is built on. The route was superb, and follows the very vague 'ridge' that climbs up towards the right-hand summit when looking from the town. There are impressive cliffs on one side, plunging down to the ring-road and the fjord. To the left, a shallow cwm full of scree. The path reaches an obvious col, after which the route turns right (north) to the summit of Hafnarfjall. This was all great, and took 52 minutes, but it was obvious that this was not the true summit of the mountain. The real peak rose from the other side of the col, so I retraced steps and took the much smaller, unmarked path through some rocks to a brilliant continuation ridge which led quite quickly to the highpoint. At the cafe which faces the mountain later that morning, a labelled painting of the peaks revealed that this is actually called Gildalshnjukur - although the map that strava generated was completely inaccurate in terms of contours and heights (as it was in most of Iceland). If Hafnarfjall is 844m, the higher peak must be around 900m, although I can't confirm this either - all rather strange. Regardless, it was a beautiful main summit, with milky cloud and soft sunshine lending definition to fantastic views. These stretched to distant Snaefellsness peninsula, and across to Esja and other snowy peaks, but also down to Borgarnes and its fjord. The continuation to the sharp, shapely peak of Katlapufa was even better, rocky in places with some very mild scrambling. Back the same way, jogging, and into the wonderful Geirabakari cafe that has panoramic views of the peak across the fjord for coffee and cake. Even better, next came the ultimate relaxation in the hot tubs of the town's swimming pool, welcome relief for tired muscles.
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