Sigló Trail Running

Ráeyri – Staðarhóll – Kálfsskarð – Siglunes
Distance: 15-16 km
Max ascent: 450m
Duration: 3,5-5 hours 

We start our first day of running from Ráeyri airfield and walk among the ruins of Evanger’s herring plant, which was destroyed in an avalanche from the Skollaskál basin in 1919. From there, we run over the Staðarhóll hill, which is a small distance further to the north, and there we will be able to see the ruins of the farm house of the same name. We will also pass the Selvíkurviti lighthouse on our way further north to Kambalágar depression. A little higher up appears the Kálfsdalur valley with its small lake. We continue our run into the valley cornerwise into the Kálfsskarð pass to the south-east. Looking towards the south-west, the back of two of Siglufjörður’s landmark mountains Hestskarðshnjúkur and Staðarhólshnjúkur lays before us.
From the pass, the path is easy down towards the opening of the Nesdalur valley. At this point we have a long run ahead of us down to the ocean with the Reyðará river winding its way in a myriad of bends to our right. The outer part of Nesdalur valley is covered with vegetation. We now start making our way towards Siglunes where Nesnúpur peak rises up above the Siglunesviti lighthouse. A little bit further to the north on a level gravel area is the site where British and American military forces were based during World War II. We now reach Siglunes point itself and the road leads us past the ruins of a manor house with the same name which stood there ever since the time of Þormóðr Rammi, the Viking settler, and up until the second half of the 20th century. To the west of the tip Nestá, there are extensive shallows that are called Hellan  meaning the slab  and to the north are the Svarthöfðasteinar  the black head boulders  while Slysfarir the casualties are nearest to land to the south.

Our second day run starts in Héðinsfjörður, which the next fjord east of Siglufjörður. We will follow the river that bares the same name and head towards Ámárdalur valley. Along our way we will encounter a gorge on the Ámá river which forms several small waterfalls on the steep and grassy mountain side. From there we will make our way towards Uxaskarð pass. This part of the run i quite steep, but worth the incredible view you have over the towering surrounding mountains. Once we have made our way down the steep hills on the other side of the pass we will head towards Brúnastaðir, which will be the final destination for our run that day.

We start our run in Kleifar in Ólafsfjörður, which is a fjord east of Siglufjörður. We start with a relatively easy run towards Syðriárhyrna mountain. Soon we will have to ford the river called Rauðskarðsá. Behind the Rauðskarðshnjúkur peak are the Rauðskörð passes, which are called so because of the red coloured rock they consist of. There we will pass through a steep scree. In front of the Rauðskarðshnjúkur peak, we will now see the Loftskörð passes that form two passes in the mountain range. Behind the Rauðskarðshnjúkur peak are the Rauðskörð passes named after the red coloured rock in them. Out from the pass, we will be greeted by a beautiful view of the mountains that surround the valley. The trail down to Héðinsfjörður fjord is clear and from the pass it is frequently possible to walk on snow. From here we will make our way all the way down towards  Vík which is a deserted farm in Héðinsfjörður.

After our last day of running we will retrieve for the last night in Hotel Sigló, where you can recover from the strain of the last 3 days in the mountains, enjoy another great meal, soak in the hot tub and a good nights sleep before heading back home the next day.