Icelandic Summer Landmannalaugar Solo Trekking and Camping Guide

   I want to make this post brief.  Mostly there's a lot of travel guides out that mention considerations to Icelandic weather, heed the advice, but I'll add something additional here.  Iceland is a Northerly country subject to more extreme weather conditions even in the summer.  It can be sunny and generally nice, even while it is cooler, and then it can be more extreme in terms of gales and stormy weather.

This past summer I managed to do the Landmannalaugar trek, but also encountered more severe gales.  The weather events were enough to have a warden shutting down the trails, and strongly suggesting camper's (with tents) to take up adequate shelter.  One particular camp was closed so that my starting day thru hike from the first destination point was instead differed to a third camp site.  That is going from the interior highlands south to the lowlands.  I decided (owing to getting ahead of an incoming storm) not to stay at a higher altitude alpine location and instead thru hike to the second location which was lower elevation, but even so were deferred to a third location.  That being said, extreme weather events can lead to camp closures if warden's make decisions that adequate shelter isn't afforded.  Also expect thru severe weather events that wardens may close the trails down (in our case a full day).  Quite likely though you wouldn't want to be out there anyways.  Just keep this in mind when factoring time schedules.

Fortunately the trek does provide a number of bus opportunities, but I would suggest taking note of schedule if you intend to use this.  Don't assume that huts (because they are advertised) are likely to be open.  First come, first serve?  Sort of, but not really.  During the height of tourist season, as I experienced, and especially during a severe weather event, the huts tend to be in high demand, but especially by paid tour groups, so unless you have exclusive reservation through a tour company, don't count on a hut being available, and make that even less likely if severe weather comes.  Going with paid touring companies affords more likely access to huts, and/or luxury treatments for trekking.
Wise to bring a three or four season tent.  I rode out severe storm with extremely high wind gales in a three season hiker's light weight tent which served well especially when sheltered in with a stone wall for weather reinforcement.

If it storms and severely so, you will likely deal with plenty of water (especially given all the river and stream crossings).  The deepest stream was nearer to the Thorsmark terminus which (at that time of the year...July) was waist high and generally a stronger current...I am six feet in height.  Highly recommend trekking poles for the crossing and/or managing to scout an adequate channel crossing site.  Keep pack belt un clipped so that your pack can be evacuated from your back in rapid fashion should you fall into the stream.  The water is glacial cold.  Wet shoes with decent traction and/or water sandals (same) can come in handy.  Gaiters are likely fine for most of the highlands, not so good where the streams in south are deeper...most stream crossing can do better with water wear for your feet.  Just change before and after crossing from dry to wet footwear and so forth.

I had witnessed a number on my trek through hiking to Thorsmark in a two or three day journey or busing out earlier because of weather conditions.  Most it appeared especially came into Thorsmark early (from our starting group) likely because of wet gear or the inability to keep gear sufficiently dry.  I, fortunately managed to keep gear dry through the duration of the severest weather, but found that on the tail end of the worst storm, my gear was saturated.   Thus I would suggest some added things for a tent.  One, it has a rain fly vestibule area where hiking boots and/or additional gear not stored in the tent can be kept in dry safe keeping, or that alternately you have a rain tarp situated so as to provide your tent additional dry space.  Secondly, compartmentalizing tent and sleeping bags or anything in tote from one another to ensure that water doesn't creep saturate internally other parts of your gear another thing to keep in mind.  Stowing an external rain tarp outside your pack can simplify this, or keeping the rain fly of your tent plastic bag stowed and segregated from other dry gear should help a lot.  Don't assume a rain cover for your pack is enough.

High humidity can more likely bring ruin to your down bag experience...consider synthetic bags.  Consider woolens and synthetic wear.  Bring and expect to use layers. 

Another small secret I'll share with you...I asked a warden, if my family home would see present weather conditions where I was at...she replied, 'That information most certainly will not be published outside Iceland!'  While I used free Wi Fi hotspots throughout Iceland.  I found none on the trek.  Something to be aware of if you intend to use wifi as a means of communication.  As to cellular service and using your existing phone abroad, check in advance.

Guides will tell you to expect much...don't assume that the weather reports that you see are what to expect before you go...its always sunny and nice, till you get there... who wants to lose revenue anyways?  :)

React and Redux

What is the difference?

One I hadn't wanted to attempt as thorough researcher to answer this question with technical ins and outs, but rather approach this with a simplest possible answer, at least a reduced answer that avoids all the technical ins and outs of differences here.

One while react does provide in its framework controller model and controller logic interfacing, by far, React provides a framework with the design aspect of encapsulating mvc structure in a component by component basis and View predominant in its focus.  While React can be designed functional in nature, it seems to me to lend itself to classical OOP design patterns.  It is, of course, also quite easy to learn and trending popular in terms of adoption and use.

Redux apps on the other hand may share some structural difference to MVC design patterns in the way of separating Controller and Model logic with the that of the view systems, as opposed to having a compact all in one strictly component integration.  That is, in housing model and controller logic to the component.  Redux logic separate Controller logic into, for instance, actions and states of the app, and making ease in generalizing the state and actions of the application across components and containers, which are components that merely handle the delegation of component actions and states.  It is also one of a functional design pattern that provides injection patterns into component and containers alike, so it also extends functional design in a positive way given flexibility and power in evolving state and action of the app.  The downside (if such is appropriate) is that Redux has a higher learning curve for adoption, at least in the pure sense of learning redux without middleware helpers.

Which to use?

If you were wanting to gain experience with Redux design and especially functional programming work, it seems Redux would be a good choice.

If you have complex state and action managements for you Web Apps design patterns, Redux may also be  another good choice, though as I've read for asynchronous management, you may need some added middle ware helper (Redux provides advice on this).

If you are new to creating Web Apps or want something that easy to dive into, React is great as a learning tool and creating a web app quickly.   React provides great versatility and state management is especially easy to understand and implement.  However, complex state management systems with two way bindings and especially implementing a generalized state management system could be also just as cumbersome work in React relative to Redux.  Thus I've seen, for instance, WebRTC web apps designed in Redux relative to being purely React, and there's likely no coincidence where app states and actions would need be shared across a number of components since an overarching controller system provides some clarity to the approach of binding data.  Redux, add goes beyond what Angular provides here especially where Angular component models increasingly resemble the simplicity of React's components which has been the trend apparently for any number of web app frameworks.
 While two way bindings, for instance, attend to the problem of two way state mutations, in React or Angular for that matter, on the other, hand I've found myself violating the mutability principle of functional programming design.  That is, instead of mutating the inputs, providing a return object that expresses a new state.  Redux, in this way, could be considered the preferable approach if and wherever app design patterns make use of two way bindings between child and parent components and is required.

If you know neither, perhaps, it may help to understand React first and then learn Redux.  Though when learning Redux provides for enough distinction to think of Redux app by way of Redux design through its native api documentation (React may not be helpful) alone.  Trying to understand Redux, through React documentation, in other words, can get in the way, in my opinion.

React is to Redux, however, arguably for what Python is to C++...which is something to keep in mind.