Modes of Travel



The Rangers of Tolkien's world are described as being a wandering folk. We know for certain that after the fall of fornost, they became a scattered folk, living sparsely in the wilds surrounding the shire mostly, and roaming about in their efforts to protect the inhabitants and precious contents of the shire.

=Walking=

It probably doesn't seem important to write a section on walking, but there are important considerations to be made when traveling on foot for a Ranger of middle-earth. Distributing the weight of your pack/gear will make a critical difference between having sore shoulders/joints and being comfortable...remember, all that you bring is being carried by you, on your own two feet. Another thing to bear in mind is the route you'll be taking. Is the terrain overgrown, or will you be on a trail? Do you know the terrain/route well, or have you never been there before? Overgrown, off-trail travel may be call to roll your cloak up inside a backpack, to keep it from catching on everything you trudge through, etc. Traveling a new route you're unfamiliar with may be cause for you to intentionally keep yourself moving at a slow pace so you don't lose track of landmarks, etc.

=riding= Horses are described throughout all of tolkien's works, among nearly all cultures (excluding dwarves ad orcs, etc.) The benefits of traveling on horseback are numerous, most notably how much faster you can cover ground, and how much more you can carry. Cumbersome items like longer swords and large coils of rope can be carried strapped to your saddle or in saddlebags, etc. Just bear in mind that the horse has limits too, so treating it as a cargo truck is not appropriate.

There is a trade-off, though...horses are not easily hidden, nor do they know how to crouch behind a bush when passers-by are approaching. You will leave a distinct, easy-to-follow trail behind you on horseback, and you will make a fair amount of noise.

Traveling on horseback would be most beneficial if reserved for traveling on main roads when covering large distances or when anonymity/stealth are not as critical.

=paddling= Traveling by water is mentioned briefly in the fellowship of the ring, and the descriptions of the boats acquired in lothlorien suggests a craft similar to a canoe, at least by method of propulsion; a paddle. Traveling by boat has a distinct advantage in the sheer volume of gear that can be carried, as well as the large amounts of ground that can be covered, particularly if you travel along with a current. The largest downfall of paddling is concealment/stealth...you will be a sitting duck in the water, unable to hide beyond simply lying down in the craft to avoid lobbed arrows. You cannot hide, and cannot travel beyond a course set by the path the water takes. You can cover a lot of ground with a lot of gear, but if anyone is watching, you will be easily spotted.