STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK

PHOTOS BY DON and SHANNON JACKSON

Don and Shannon Jackson began sweating as they looked across a grey glacial river that braided its way across the rugged, remote landscape of southern Iceland.

Normally, the river would be no wider than the Big Wood River. But it had swelled, its depth chest high in some parts, after 15 hours of rain melting the glacier that fed the river. It was so wide they couldn’t even see the other side.

“We were standing in the middle of the river on a disappearing sandbar, and I could see there was no retreat because the water was rising too fast,” said Shannon. “Our only option was to move forward and hope we could reach the other side.”

The Hailey bike packers did reach the other side with many more adventures still ahead. And Shannon Jackson will share their story at 5:30 p.m. tonight--Thursday, Nov. 6--at Hailey Town Center West. The presentation is being hosted by the Hailey Public Library.

Don and Shannon Jackson, who have recounted previous outdoor endeavors in a book titled “Better and Happier Together,” spent 19 days in Iceland between July 13 through 23.

They spent 10 of those days bike packing across 360 miles of a rugged landscape sporting bright green hills dotted with lupine, black volcanic soil that resembled coffee grounds and lava hoodoos with temperatures in the low 40s and 50s.

They encountered ferocious wind and rain, pushed their bikes through silty quicksand and  navigated lava fields like that at Craters of the Moon Preserve and National Monument.

The couple always wanted to go to Iceland but had hesitated because the weather patterns there can be horrific with constant rain and cold and winds of 135 miles per hour and gusts of up to 165.

“That definitely frightened me until last year when we got caught in a typhoon with 70 mph winds and wind chill in single digits while biking in Alaska. Our gear worked and, after getting through that, I told Don, ‘I’m okay with it,’ ” Shannon recounted.

“I like bike packing because it allows us to go to interesting places and see stuff that others don’t see, but I don’t like the idea of going with guides and having my meals prepared--I like finding my way,” added Don. “I also like the terrain to be challenging. So, we looked at Iceland and it checked all the boxes.”

While most travelers go from north to south in Iceland, the Jacksons elected to go south to north because they saw the most horrendous winds coming out of the south.

“We wanted to ride along the fault line that crosses the island from Vik to Akureyri, traveling through a land of fire and ice lava fields volcanoes and glaciers. The route is known as the ‘Iceland Divide,’ ” said Shannon.

After spending a few days in Reykjavik, the couple flew to Keflvik where they took a three hour trip over land to Vik. From there they would travel through the most remote area of Iceland, which sports an environment so similar to the moon that the Apollo astronauts trained there for lunar exploration during the 1960s.

It was raining so hard the first day that they couldn’t see a landmark mountain that would have offered a navigational checkpoint. And the markers along their 62-mile route were underwater.

But, somehow, they managed to arrive at Strutur Hut 14 hours after they started, having stayed reasonably dry in the most breathable, water-repellant rain jackets and pants Shannon could find, along with Lululemon tights, bike shorts, Endura sweaters, wool Crosspoint socks, shower caps over their bike helmets and dishwashing gloves that kept their hands dry while allowing them the maneuverability to shift gears.

“We had waterproof boots, too. But, after 26 river crossings, we gave up because it took too much time,” Shannon said. “The first day as we looked at the river, I didn’t know if I could go through with it—it taps your inner strength. But Don thrives in it—he was smiling he was so excited. And I survived it.”

The second day they awoke to sun and blue skies—a rarity in that niche of the world. But that didn’t mean their ordeal was over. Their packs caught the winds like sails, forcing them to retreat behind rocks to get out of the wind to catch their breath.

They saw numbers on signs that didn’t match their maps. They spent 18 hours struggling to ride through volcanic sand. They crossed a desert where they didn’t see a single person, bird, critter or lizard. And they passed a glacier-fed blue lake that was too silty to be used by people or boats.

But they passed Mt. Maelifell, a majestic pyramid covered with green moss; saw the multicolored rhyolite mountains of Landmannalaugar; took pictures of the Sigoldufoss waterfall and camped at the base of the Vatnajokull Glacier, the fourth largest mass of ice in the world.

They also saw Icelandic sheep, free-range ponies and Arctic terns.

Most days they biked about 35 miles—journeys that took between 10 to 14 hours in never-ending daylight. They found a tiny grocery store and coffee house set up in the Mountain Mall--a bus where they were able to choose from common Icelandic dishes like fish stew with mashed potatoes and Icelandic sandwiches made of cheese, ham, cucumber and lettuce on rye bread.

But, mostly, they ate freeze-dried biscuits and gravy for breakfast, Pop Tarts, white chocolate Oreos and other freeze-dried meals that provided concentrated calories, melting snow for water.

“I had two coffee-flavored Clif bars a day since I couldn’t get coffee,” said Shannon.

Perhaps the most heart-stopping point of the trip came when they reached a river that was running so high and so fast that they couldn’t see any way across.

As they tried to find a reasonable crossing, a couple 4x4 trucks mounted on jacked-up wheels with snorkels on top appeared on the scene, and one of the drivers offered to ferry the couple across the river. When Shannon protested that they didn’t want to be a bother, the man replied, “I’m not offering. I’m ordering.”

Don and Shannon looked at each other. They realized that if they lost a bike in the fast-racing river they would never recover it. So, Don climbed into the truck with his bike. Shannon watched, her heart in her mouth, as the truck began zig-zagging across the river, then went underwater.

But it made it to the other side and returned for her.

As they neared the end of their trip they came to Godafoss Waterfall, a big attraction for busloads of tourists from cruise ships.

“We knew the restaurant next to the waterfall was close to closing so we pedaled as fast as we could into a headwind because I wanted to have some hot food,” said Shannon. “We got there two minutes before they closed. We got a couple pizzas and there was one hotel room left.”

When they concluded their bike trip at Akureyri, they were allowed to ride their bikes onto the airport tarmac and push them aboard the plane.  The plane took them back to Reykjavik where they rewarded themselves with giant slices of carrot cake and fried donuts that were crunchy on the outside and moist inside.

Shannon calls Iceland a mecca for bike packers, rating it a 9 or 10 out of 10.

“When I started the ride, I worried the challenges would be too demanding and, yet, after ten days, I didn’t want the trip to end. I enjoyed the desolation, solitude and monochromatic landscape—and was surprised by how much I would later appreciate the presence of color and the simple sound of a bird’s call,” she said.

Was it worth it?

“Absolutely,” said Shannon. “It’s such a feeling of accomplishment. I know of six people who biked in Iceland this summer but they didn’t see what we saw. We experienced a difference Iceland. It’s an island that’s really breathtaking and pretty in a different way.”