Our first week of applications for the 2024 Trailteams has been busy and we are delighted with the response to our call for volunteers. We are very happy to welcome back so many old friends along with all the new applicants. We look forward to working together and the exciting season ahead.
Next summer our teams will return to several of our favourite work sites to continue trail improvements but our focus in 2024 will be several new projects on the remote sections of the trail network that have so far received little attention. These sites are quite far from our camps so our teams can expect a lot of hiking next season.
The proposed projects include new work sites close to Morinsheiði and additional sections of the trails on Útigönguhöfði where good progress has been made in the last two seasons. As the number of hikers increases, the main aim of this work is to improve drainage and reduce erosion on these remote and fragile trails.
Although we generally use stonework on the high trails, we will continue to build with timber on the lower sections and within the forest. Several new techniques have been developed in Thórsmörk in recent years and this work will continue on Valahnúkur and the Laugavegur Trail (south of Þröngá).
Examples of our techniques and work tasks planned for 2024…
Constructing log steps
Stone steps and drain construction (Jakob Svendsen).
Log steps design including ‘drain platform’
Log step construction on Réttarfell
Constructing stone drains (Ole Kattein)
‘Timber ladder’ step construction on Valahnúkur (Ole Kattein)
Building box steps (Melissa Davies)
Making trail markers (Tanith Jones)
Stone drain construction
Our teams fill up quite quickly, so if you would like to join us on the trails in Thórsmörk and Goðaland next summer, don’t delay sending in your application. As always, placement allocations begin in the New Year.
Full details including dates and application forms can be found here…
Volunteer opportunities
Thórsmörk Trail Volunteers 