Four hundred walks

The beginning of the lifelong friendship of the hiking group “Fet fyrir fet” (Step by Step) was in the Scout organization (WAGGS). The walking group was founded in 1988, but the friends met much earlier, in childhood. For 35 years, the group has been walking together one Sunday a month, but in addition, there have been longer trips in the summer, both here at home and abroad. A journalist went to the home of the couple Pálína Sigurbergsdóttir and Stefán Kjartansson to hear more about this unique group of friends, and Margrét Elísabet Jónsdóttir, Arnlaugur Guðmundsson, and Halldór S. Magnússon were also there to tell stories.

Respect for the party leader

"We all started at a very young age in the scouts, in the scout home, which was in a camp at Snorrabraut at the time. Most of us lived in the Eastern part of Reykjavík or Þingholt. So we met there and we were between the ages of nine and thirteen," Sigurbergsdóttir says.

"In Step by Step, there are some people who were not in the scouts but married into the group and then just had to bite the bullet and start behaving like scouts," Jónsdóttir says with a smile.

"In the scouts, everyone gets a role, and we took this up when we founded the hiking club in December 1988. We immediately decided that there would be a hike on the first Sunday of every month at half past eleven, and we always met up at Ártúnshöfði. Another thing that was decided was that there had to be a party leader and that he would nominate his successor. That's how we've done it for all these 35 years," Magnússon says, adding that party leaders keep their title for one year before handing the torch to someone else.

Two party leaders were always appointed, sometimes a couple and sometimes individuals. The only rule was that party leaders should always be obeyed in one and all.

"We have great respect for the party leader, whoever he is. We shout in his honor," Magnússon says, and before the journalist can ask the next question, they all shout in unison: "Hail to our commander and our motherland!"

Walked all over the country

The group has seen a lot of the country in those 35 years, but they weren't content with monthly hikes.

"We always go on one good trip in the summer and have gone abroad four times," Jónsdóttir says.

"To Norway, Austria, the Faroe Islands, and to Bornholm in Denmark," Guðmundsson chimes in.

"The group’s name is usually shorted to “The Step” and it has thirteen members, but four are dead.

"We immediately decided that the group couldn't be bigger than it could fit in one home or one small mountain cabin," Jónsdóttir says.

"We have met four hundred times and Margrét (Jónsdóttir) has written in a book about every single walk," Sigurbergsdóttir says, adding that today's trips are much shorter; often around Laugardalur, Elliðaárdalur, Klambratún Park or around the city. We usually end up in a cafe or have a coffee at home.

"We have gone on real mountain trips," Jónsdóttir says.

"We have walked in Fimmvörðuháls, in Landamannalaugar, Þórsmörk, Hvítárnes, Borgarfjörður eystri, Fjörður, in Strandir, Skaftártungur, over Kjöl, Lónsöræfi and Snæfellsnes. All of Iceland," Sigurbergsdóttir says, as the list is not exhaustive. They say that in the later years, after they’ve gotten older, they have stayed in hotels, rather than in cabins, and have gone on shorter walks.

"We are not as young as we used to be," Jónsdóttir adds.

An hour wading in their underwear

The group often had adventures in the wilderness, and Jónsdóttir recalls one story.

"One time when we were walking in Skaftártungur, we were unlucky with the weather. We were wading tributaries that had become roaring rivers. I think we spent an hour in our underpants in the fog and our waders; it didn't work because there was always a new river. Then a call was heard from the fog: "And we pay for this!", Jónsdóttir says and they laugh out loud at the memory.

Magnússon says he remembers one good story from one of the most memorable trips ever.

"Then we were walking Tungnahryggjsjökull Glacier. We walked from Barkárdalur and stopped at a cabin on top of the glacier. That cabin was only meant for about ten people. There were at least twenty of us! It was quite tight," he says.

"But when we were on our way there, we ran into a fog," he adds and says he didn't see the next person ahead of him, even though he was close.

"However, we had good men who had compasses and gadgets. The party leader saw to it that we marched straight; he led the way with the compass. So we were approaching the cabin, but we didn't know exactly where it was. It was decided that several men set out to search and eventually one found him. The men were relieved when they heard a shout from the fog: "CABIN!" Then the others followed in the direction of the voice," Magnússon says.

"After this, they never said “skál” (cheers), but “skáli” (cabin)," Jónsdóttir says Margrét, laughing.

Deep friendship and loyalty

What have these trips given you over the years?

"Company!" Magnússon says.

"It has given me so much, this friendship all these years. This is a fixed point in my existence. Often, when people get older, groups like this dissolve, but that hasn't happened with us," Sigurbergsdóttir says.

"It has been a deep friendship and loyalty," Jóndsóttir says.

"So this has given us outdoor activities and exercise," says Arnlaugur Guðmundsson.

The 400th walk was recently held and the group went through the Vogar neighborhood of Reykjavík.

"Jónsdóttir lives in Nökkvavogur and she invited us to her house afterward for lunch," Sigurbergsdóttir says.

The group intends to continue unabated, as they know nothing more fun than walking together and chatting.

"We just keep going!" Sigurbergsdóttir says.