'WALK TO MORDOR' UPDATE: 1,570 miles down and 209 miles to go

Frodo and Sam camp beside large tree.

I continued my (virtual) “Walk to Mordor” during the past week by logging 18 more miles since my last update. I walked/jogged three miles on Saturday, three more miles on Wednesday and 12 miles yesterday (Thursday). So far, I’ve logged 1,570 total miles on this virtual trip to Mount Doom, and I’ve got 209 more miles to go before I reach Mordor. All in all, I’ve completed about 88.3 percent of the total trip.

 

In relation to Frodo Baggins’ overall journey to destroy the One Ring at Mount Doom in Mordor, I’m on the 14th day of the trip past Rauros Falls, which is March 9 on the Middle Earth calendar. I left off my last update on March 8 at Mile 1552, which was one mile past the point where Frodo, Samwise Gamgee and Gollum crossed a tumbling stream. Three miles later, at Mile 1555, night falls and the group sleeps beneath an ancient tree although Sam is restless.

 

The following day, March 9, the group leaves at first light. Eight miles later, at Mile 1563, the trees grow thicker and they stop for a brief rest. The air grows heavy here, and Gollum urges more speed. Six miles later, at Mile 1569, they cross a small stream. I’ve traveled one mile beyond this point, to Mile 1570, and the next significant milestone comes one mile later, at Mile 1571, where the group reaches an area of large trees and Gollum grows fearful.

 

For those of you reading this for the first time, I began this “Walk to Mordor” fitness challenge on Jan. 1, 2015. Using a book called “The Atlas of Middle-Earth” by Karen Wynn Fonstad, fans of “The Lord of the Rings” created this challenge by mapping out Frodo’s fictional trek to Mordor, calculating the total distance at 1,779 miles. They also used the original "Lord of the Rings" text to outline the journey, so you can follow their route by keeping up with your total mileage.

 

The folks who worked out the nuts and bolts of this virtual journey have divided it into four parts. It’s 458 miles from Hobbiton to Rivendell, 462 miles from Rivendell through Moria to Lothlorien, 389 miles from Lothlorien down the Anduin to Rauros Falls and 470 miles from Rauros to Mount Doom. (Those locations should sound very familiar to “Lord of the Rings” fans.) The hobbits averaged 18 miles a day, but if you walk (or jog, as I sometimes do) five miles a day, it’s possible to cover 1,779 miles in a year.

 

If you’re interested in learning more about the “Walk to Mordor Challenge,” I suggest you check out two Web sites, http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/23/walking/ and http://home.insightbb.com/~eowynchallenge/. Both of these sites provide a ton of details about the challenge, including how to get started.

 

In the end, check back next Friday for another update and to see how much closer I am to Mordor. I hope to knock out at least 10 more miles next week, and I’ll include all that in my update next week.