ENGLISH BELOW
EDIT: PHOTOLOGGING IS ALLOWED UNTIL NEW BOX ARRIVES
Föstudagskvöldið 19. mars 2021 hófst eldgos í Geldingadölum í Fagradalsfjalli eftir mikla jarðskjálftahrinu. Eldgosið var svo lítið að það sást ekki á jarðskjálftamælum, það var ekki fyrr en fólk hringdi inn til að spyrja um rauða bjarman sem það sá að farið var að skoða það.
Í fyrstu var búist við að gosið myndi ekki standa lengi þar sem það var svo lítið, áætlað hraunrennsli var aðeins 5-10 rúmmetrar á sekúndu sem er aðeins 1% af rennslinu í upphafi gossins í Holuhrauni 2014. En þegar hraunið var mælt 1180°C heitt og með einstaklega mikið af koltvísýringi og kolsýringi sem bendir til mjög frumstæðrar kviku þá jukust líkurnar á að dyngjugos væri hafið sem gæti staðið í allt frá 2 dögum til tveggja alda.
Cache-inn var falinn á fimmta degi gossins þegar það var að bæta í frekar en hitt.
Dósin er falin á nokkuð öruggum stað en náið ykkur samt í upplýsingar um veður https://blika.is/spa/9192 þar sem það getur breyst hratt til fjalla. Ekki er mælt með að fara á staðinn í norðaustlægri vindátt vegna möguleika á gasmengun. Fylgið einnig öllum leiðbeiningum björgunarsveita og lögreglu. Oftast eru bestu viðvaranir á https://safetravel.is
Ekki er gefin nánari lýsing á bílastæði eða leið þar sem það breytist enn frá degi til dags.
ENGLISH VERSION
On the evening of 19th of march 2021 an eruption started in Geldingadalir in Fagradalsfjall, and believe me it could easily have started in a place with an even harder name to pronounce. It started after a seismic prologoe of over an year, which increased in intensity in the few weeks before the eruption started with the strongest quake of 5.7 on the magnitude scale and all in all close to 30.000 Earthquakes. Then when the eruption startet it did so so quietly that it did not register on seismographs. So first warnings were calls from people asking about the red glow on the horizon.
At first it was expected that the eruption would be short lived since it was so small, the lava flow was just 5-10 cubicmeters/second, which is only 1% of the flow at the start of the Holuhraun eruption in 2014. But when first measurements came in scientist started expecting that it could last anytime from a few days up to even centuries. The signs for that was that the magma was rising up straight from the earths mantle so it was very hot at 1180°C and also had a high amount of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
The Location
The Cache was hidden on the fifth day of the eruption, at the time the eruption was still growing slowly but the eruption is still considered "tiny". At the time a trail had already been marked and the cache is close to the trail. I hid it in a reasonably safe spot but the area is still considered dangerous. Biggest dangers are weather related, the weather can change very quickly so check the weather forecast before starting the hike https://blika.is/spa/9192. Also keep in mind that the cache is SW of the lavafield and the vent so in NE-winds or in very calm weather there is a danger of Volcanic gases lying low in the area. Best and most current information and warnings can usually be found on https://safetravel.is
But this eruption site is open unless the authorities deem the current conditions to dangorous, but then there are guards from the rescue teams or the police in the area, remember that they are there only for your safety, and the safety of the rescuers that might have to come after you.
The Hike
Depending on where you can park the hike can be from 3.5-5.5 km oneway. So good boots, hiking backpack with extra clothes, food and water is strongly recommended.
EDIT: PHOTOLOGGING IS ALLOWED UNTIL NEW BOX ARRIVES