Walk To Rivendell" aka "The Eowyn Challenge"

[Naz]

You have walked 297.84 miles.
You are still south of the Road (286).
It is 2.16000000000003 miles to the next landmark. You still have 160.16 miles to Rivendell.

way way!!

[Tefalathiel]

Please update the walker's list!!!

2 weeks and I haven't passed the Ford yet.... It's really hard to leave Rivendell.
( looks back to Imladris, sobs )

[Naz]

You have walked 299.37 miles.
You are still south of the Road (286).
It is 0.629999999999995 miles to the next landmark. You still have 158.63 miles to Rivendell.

So close..- -;

[Sapphire_Flame]

**You have walked 161.6 miles.
You have passed Bree (152).
You are only 2.4 miles from Chetwood Forest.
You still have 296.4 miles to Rivendell.**

Yay! ^^ You know, chasing after my little cousins all week really helped with this... Plus all the running around and *squee!*ing with joy because the EV of Towers is out tomorrow! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Abedithon le,

~*~Aranel~*~

[Naz]

You have walked 302.06 miles.
You are still south of the Road (300).
It is 11.94 miles to the next landmark. You still have 155.94 miles to Rivendell.

Not once did they feel the sense of present evil that had assailed them before the attack in the dell.

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

Good luck in Moria, Alatariël!

Lyta: Thanks...we're going to need all the luck we can get!!

______________________________

Our Company is heading south towards the Western Doors of Moria. They are about 12 leagues away, but we hope to reach them within a week. Gandalf is acting very smug, and only Gimli looks forward to our dark journey.

--------------------

"There is a way that we may attempt," said Gandalf. "I thought from the beginning, when first I considered this journey, that we should try it. But it is not a pleasant way, and I have not spoken of it to the Company before. Aragorn was against it, until the pass over the mountains had at least been tried."

..."The road that I speak of leads to the Mines of Moria," said Gandalf. Only Gimli lifted up his head; a smouldering fire was in his eyes. On all the others a dread fell at the mention of that name. Even to the hobbits it was a legend of vague fear.

..."I will tread the path with you, Gandalf!" said Gimli. "I will go and look on the halls of Durin, whatever may wait there--if you can find the doors that are shut."

"Good, Gimli!" said Gandalf. "You encourage me. We will seek the hidden doors together. And we will come through. In the ruins of the Dwarves, a dwarf's head will be less easy to bewilder than Elves or Men or Hobbits."

[Nurumaiel]

I haven't posted in such a long time, and I've only read the last few posts, so forgive me if I've missed anything very important. Congratulations to all who have reached Rivendell, and the rest of you appear to be doing a wonderful job.

I have had such a lack of time recently that I haven't been walking at all (I've only gained 20 miles since the last time I was here), and I have roughly a month left. However, I've learned I can walk about 3 miles in 40 min. (36 min., to be precise), and if I can set aside 40 min. every day for walking, I should be past Rivendell by tROTK release.

As Miss Robin Brandybuck, I'm still trying to think of a good excuse to give Strider. I suppose as long as we get there he'll be able to control his temper (as you can see, this hobbit does not really understand Aragorn yet!), but I haven't been very nice to poor Frodo. You'd think after Weathertop we'd be going faster, but I drag along behind until we're barely moving at all!

[Naz]

Alatáriël, good lucks from me too^ ^; For what it's worth... ^ ^;;;..

Sapphire, squee with happiness whenvever you want. It works if you want to scare hobbits. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Hobbits: O O;;

Naz:

You have walked 306.10 miles.
You are still south of the Road (300).
It is 7.89999999999998 miles to the next landmark. You still have 151.9 miles to Rivendell.

[Naz]

You have walked 310.10 miles.
You are still south of the Road (300).
It is 3.89999999999998 miles to the next landmark. You still have 147.9 miles to Rivendell.

[Naz]

You have walked 314.19 miles.
You are still south of the Road (314).
It is 13.81 miles to the next landmark. You still have 143.81 miles to Rivendell.

It seemed too much to hope that the Riders had already lost their trail again. Perhaps they were waiting to make some ambush in a narrow place?

*walking around in camouflage*

Pip: This is dumb...

Merry: I thought you were a nazgul!

Naz: Shhhhh.... - -;

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

Alatáriël, good lucks from me too^ ^; For what it's worth... ^ ^;;;

Thanks, Naz. I've got a feeling we're going to need it...

______________________________

Our Company has been trudging southwards, away from Caradhras, towards Moria. Aragorn's fears that we were being closely followed turned out to be all too true. Last night during a brief rest halt, we were attacked by a large pack of wolves that had encircled us. They were many and fierce, and we were hard pressed. Even the hobbits had to draw their blades. Although the wolves finally fled, we did not continue on our way until the sun rose over the mountains.

--------------------
Suddenly Aragorn leapt to his feet. "How the wind howls!" he cried. "It is howling with wolf-voices. The Wargs have come west of the Mountains!"
..."Then let us start as soon as it is light tomorrow, if we can," said Boromir. "The wolf that one hears is worse than the orc that one fears."
...(Pippin)"these howls freeze my blood. I don't ever remember feeling so wretched."
..."My heart's right down in my toes, Mr. Pippin," said Sam. "But we aren't etten yet, and there are some stout folk here with us. Whatever may be in store for old Gandalf, I'll wager it isn't a wolf's belly."
...Frodo saw many grey shapes spring over the ring of stones. More and more followed.
...the tree above him burst into a leaf and bloom of blinding flame. The fire leapt from tree-top to tree-top. The whole hill was crowned with dazzling light.
...The last arrow of Legolas kindled in the air as it flew, and plunged burning into the heart of a great wolf-chieftain. All the others fled.
..."What did I tell you, Mr. Pippin?" said Sam, sheathing his sword. "Wolves won't get him. That was an eye-opener, and no mistake! Nearly singed the hair off my head!"

[Naz]

You have walked 316.91 miles.
You are still south of the Road (314).
It is 11.09 miles to the next landmark. You still have 141.09 miles to Rivendell.

Nice to know my little good luck means something [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[Naz]

You have walked 321.97 miles.
You are still south of the Road (314).
It is 6.02999999999997 miles to the next landmark. You still have 136.03 miles to Rivendell.

^ ^ Whee! ^ ^ (ok that was random..^ ^;; )

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

We are drawing ever nearer to Moria. Since the attack of the wolves, we know that this is the only path open to us. Yet my heart is filled with dread at the prospect of the long journey underground and the endless darkness. I am uneasy even in the caverns of Thranduil. Although I could return to Rivendell on my own, I will not forsake my companions or our quest. I will continue this journey in spite of my fears.

--------------------
When the full light of the morning came no signs of the wolves were to be found, and they looked in vain for the bodies of the dead. No trace of the fight remained but the charred trees and the arrows of Legolas lying on the hill-top. All were undamaged save one of which only the point was left.

"It is as I feared," said Gandalf. "These were no ordinary wolves hunting for food in the wilderness. Let us eat quickly and go!"

..."I do not know which to hope," said Boromir grimly: "that Gandalf will find what he seeks, or that coming to the cliff we shall find the gates lost for ever. All choices seem ill, and to be caught between wolves and the wall the likeliest chance. Lead on!"

[Lyta_Underhill]

Its your friendly, addlepated hobbit Lyta Underhill checking in again from just short of the third camp in the Trollshaws! (363 miles). There are less than 100 miles left on my path, and I find that having Naz about 40 miles behind me keeps me going! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] (Well, that and the fact that I can't wait to meet Glorfindel! Somehow, I think I'm not supposed to tell the other hobbits about it yet! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] )

Cheers,
Lyta

[mark12_30]

Alatariel: Brrr, and I thought that the troll-cave was nasty... Moria! Brrr.

(I have been walking off and on, but haven't logged my miles in a week or so. Until I sit down and figure them out, I don't really know where I am. Trudging along behind Strider and Gandalf, who seem rather tense, and listening to the hobbits squabble, and the elf and the dwarf. Boromir seems like a fairly cheerful sort. Pippin in particular enjoys his company.)

[Mad Baggins]

Ah...Rivendell is so close I can taste it. The days are long and tiring, the nights are even longer and terrifying, but our hearts are enlightened by the thought of a sanctuary. Yeah! Only 15 more miles!

[Naz]

and I find that having Naz about 40 miles behind me keeps me going!

Eheheh..^ ^;; I'm not that much of a threat..

Mad Baggins, you're almost there! ^ ^

As for my (not so) grand total so far:

You have walked 325.33 miles.
You are still south of the Road (314).
It is 2.67000000000002 miles to the next landmark. You still have 132.67 miles to Rivendell.

Pip: How much farther?

Naz: 132.67 miles...

Pip: *"dies"*

Merry: - -;

Ary: Come on, everybody... *sighs* How on Arda did I get mixed up in this...?

[Sapphire_Flame]

**You have walked 164.4 miles.
You have passed Chetwood Forest (164).
It is 7.6 miles to the next landmark.
You still have 293.6 miles to Rivendell.**

Whether because of Strider's skill or for some other reason, they saw no sign and heard no sound of any other living thing all that day: neither two-footed, except birds; nor four-footed, except one fox and a few squirrels.

Saph: It's too quiet...

Pippin: Yeah...

S & P: <glance at each other, then start singing>: I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes: I know a--

F, S, M, & A: -,-;;;;;; Dear Eru, what did we do to deserve this?....

Abedithon le,

~*~Aranel~*~

[Naz]

You have walked 335.09 miles.
You are still south of the Road (328).
It is 6.91000000000003 miles to the next landmark. You still have 122.91 miles to Rivendell.

At the end of the fifth day the ground began once more to rise slowly out of the wide shallow valley into which they had descended. Strider now turned their course again north-eastwards, and on the sixth day they reached the top of a long slow-climbing slope, and saw far ahead a huddle of wooded hills. Away below them they could see the Road sweeping round the feet of the hills; and to their right a grey river gleamed pale in the thin sunshine. In the distance they glimpsed yet another river in a stony valley half-veiled in mist.

Frodo: *whispering* Strider, is it just me, or has Naz gotten eerily silent as of late..?

Ary: Not just you..

Pip: What's wrong with her?

*Naz is lagging behind, silently clutching the 11th Dragon Knights to her chest & crying over somebody's death in it...* TT_TT

(heheh... Sa~~ph! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img])

[Tefalathiel]

Slowly, but surely, I'm getting there!

Someone, Please!!!!!! Update that Walker's List!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nurumaiel]

Tefalathiel,
I believe it's my job to update the mileage list. I've been trying to find time to do it, but I've been very busy. You'll just have to pardon me until I'm able to work on it.

EDIT : Well, postponing my breakfast, I was able to update the list. It's the second post on page one.

How slow I've been going. We've just reached Bilbo's trolls at 395 miles, and it was rather amusing to see the foolish looks on the hobbit's faces when they realized they were stone trolls. No doubt I looked just as foolish. Strider got a rather good laugh out of me. When I and a couple of the other hobbits when a-trippin' ahead, I was singing a rather confused version of The Rocky Road to Rivendell [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] and halfway through I broke off with a involuntary squeal when I caught sight of the trolls. After dinner Pippin remembered it and also laughed heartily. I managed to humble myself enough to laugh with them, but it was the first time in 395 miles that I'd squealed.

Strider says we'll try to walk five miles today and reach a grand 400 miles. We're getting there, despite that it takes awhile.

[ 1:20 PM November 26, 2003: Message edited by: Nurumaiel ]

[mark12_30]

Frodo: *whispering* Strider, is it just me, or has Naz gotten eerily silent as of late..?

Aragorn: She's fading. It's all about that .00000000000003 miles distance she's got. It's not much bigger than an atomic unit.

Pip: How does a ranger know about atomic units?

Aragorn: I WAS raised in Rivendell, I'm not your average ignorant moron.

Pip: Next you'll tell me she's phase-shifted into another dimension. Have you been watching Star Trek lately?

Aragorn: Watch it or they'll delete your post.

Frodo: .00000000000003 miles, eh? I'm beginning to feel a little... thin. How thin does overscraped butter get, anyway?

Aragorn: About that thin, at least by the time you turn nto a wraith.

*Naz fades gracefully and elegantly in and out by exactly .00000000000003 miles distance

[Lyta_Underhill]

*snickers at Helen's whimsical use of atomic units in Middle Earth heh heh heh... [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] *
*thinks Naz has the ancient secret of cut and paste from the Barrowdowns' "Walk to Rivendell" calculator! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] * For me, .00000000000003 miles is .00000000006336 of a stride! I don't think even a hobbit could step that mincingly! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] Maybe the Nazgul knows some intricate dance steps we don't! I must say it is good to have the level Road to walk upon finally; still working my way through the Trollshaws (final camp at 376 miles--creeping up on the Three Stone Trolls...), perhaps in a couple of days I shall be there, and I swear I will climb upon them and take a picture with my digicam! (What? No digicams in Middle Earth? If there's atomic units, there's digicams! ) [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Cheers,
Lyta

[Sapphire_Flame]

**You have walked 168.9 miles.
You have passed Chetwood Forest (164).
You are only 3.1 miles from abandoned robbers den.
You still have 289.1 miles to Rivendell.**

[img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

*Naz is lagging behind, silently clutching the 11th Dragon Knights to her chest & crying over somebody's death in it...* TT_TT

(heheh... Sa~~ph! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img])

GAH!!!! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] Who dies, who dies?!?!?! Please tell me!!!!! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]

Abedithon le,

~*~Aranel~*~

[Pyroclastic]

Help me! I know I'm somewhere in the marshes, probbably way beyond, but I've compleatly lost all hope! I feel so silly, but the reason I'm lost is that I got so tired of ticking everywhere I went. Pedometers are annoying, and when you're wearing one, you can't sneak up on people! I need some encouragement to keep on, and forget the nasty orks along the trail! Please help!

[Naz]

Frodo: *whispering* Strider, is it just me, or has Naz gotten eerily silent as of late..?
Aragorn: She's fading. It's all about that .00000000000003 miles distance she's got. It's not much bigger than an atomic unit.

Pip: How does a ranger know about atomic units?

Aragorn: I WAS raised in Rivendell, I'm not your average ignorant moron.

Pip: Next you'll tell me she's phase-shifted into another dimension. Have you been watching Star Trek lately?

Aragorn: Watch it or they'll delete your post.

Frodo: .00000000000003 miles, eh? I'm beginning to feel a little... thin. How thin does overscraped butter get, anyway?

Aragorn: About that thin, at least by the time you turn nto a wraith.

*Naz fades gracefully and elegantly in and out by exactly .00000000000003 miles distance

*laughs* mark12_30 (can I call you mark? [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ) , that was really funny!^ ^

Sapphire... if you really want it spoiled... I'll PM you...

My miles:

You have walked 344.98 miles.
You have reached the Great East Road again (342).
It is 3.01999999999998 miles to the next landmark. You still have 113.02 miles to Rivendell.

"I am afraid we must go back to the Road here for a while,' said Strider. 'We have now come to the River Hoarwell, that the Elves call Mitheithel. It flows down out of the Ettenmoors, the troll-fells north of Rivendell, and joins the Loudwater away in the South. Some call it the Greyflood after that. It is a great water before it finds the Sea. There is no way over it below its sources in the Ettenmoors, except by the Last Bridge on which the Road crosses.'

[Lyta_Underhill]

Pyro! Stuck in the marshes? I've got an idea! Do you have a route that you have been walking every day, such as to school or along a street or something? Get it measured in a car and then estimate how far you've been walking from that! That should pull you out of the marshes. That is how I managed to start my walk with 20 miles to my credit back in August, when I feared I had little hope of making it in time.

The pedometer helped after a while, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Besides, Pippin makes fun of the way I 'click' when I walk. He tells me that's no kind of hobbit way to go about, making all that noise. Then I tell him to lower his voice! *snicker*! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Cheers,
Lyta (380 miles, nearing Bilbo's Stone Trolls)

P.S. I'm pretending that Naz is chasing me! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] Its fun, but I think she's gaining! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

Alatariel: Brrr, and I thought that the troll-cave was nasty... Moria! Brrr.

Helen: Moria is much, much worse. I contacted the Enterprise to get them to beam us out of here to the Dimrill Stair, but there is too much interference for the transporters to work. We'll just have to trudge along on our own, dang it! Now if we could just get these phasers to work...

______________________________

We have entered the long dark of Moria, and it is more dreadful than even the worst of tales has told. When we reached the doors we were forced to abandon our faithful pony, Bill, as he cannot travel with us through the tunnels and stairs that are the pathways through the Mines. This was a sore blow to poor Sam. When the doors finally opened, the unseen menace in the water attempted to seize Frodo, and in escaping we lost most of our baggage and provisions. Gandalf led us confidently along the right passages until we reached a point where the main tunnel branches, and he now seems unsure of the way. We will rest for a few hours in a guard chamber adjacent to the crossroads, and give him time for thought. The time passes slowly, and the silence and darkness are like physical presences that weigh heavy upon my spirit.

--------------------
After only a brief rest they started on their way again. All were eager to get the journey over as quickly as possible…The Mines of Moria were vast and intricate…To Gandalf the far-off memories of a journey long before were now of little help, but even in the gloom and despite all windings of the road he knew whither he wished to go, and he did not falter, as long as there was a path that led towards his goal.

“Do not be afraid!” said Aragorn…”I have been with him on many a journey, if never on one so dark; and there are tales in Rivendell of greater deeds of his than any that I have seen. He will not go astray—if there is any path to find. He has led us in here against our fears, but he will lead us out again, at whatever cost to himself.”

[Naz]

You have walked 349.61 miles.
You have reached The Last Bridge (369).
It is 4.38999999999999 miles to the next landmark. You still have 108.39 miles to Rivendell.

They hurried along with all the speed they could make, and after a mile or two they saw the Last Bridge ahead, at the bottom of a short steep slope. They dreaded to see black figures waiting there, but they saw none. Strider made them take cover in a thicket at the side of the Road, while he went forward to explore.

? How can I have passed it...?

Others: - -;;;; .....

[Naz]

You have walked 351.39 miles.
You have reached The Last Bridge (369).
It is 2.61000000000001 miles to the next landmark. You still have 106.61 miles to Rivendell.

[Naz]

You have walked 353.74 miles.
You have reached The Last Bridge (369).
It is 0.259999999999991 miles to the next landmark. You still have 104.26 miles to Rivendell

Almost there... Will I make it in time? *worried*

[Naz]

You have walked 357.74 miles.
You have reached the first camp in the Trollshaws (354).
It is 1.25999999999999 miles to the next landmark. You still have 100.26 miles to Rivendell.

At once they went on again. They crossed the Bridge in safety, hearing no sound but the water swirling against its three great arches. A mile further on they came to a narrow ravine that led away northwards through the steep lands on the left of the Road. Here Strider turned aside, and soon they were lost in a sombre country of dark trees winding among the feet of sullen hills.

I'M ALMOST THERE!!! I'M ALMOST THERE!!! (kind of [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img])

[Lyta_Underhill]

I contacted the Enterprise to get them to beam us out of here to the Dimrill Stair, but there is too much interference for the transporters to work. We'll just have to trudge along on our own, dang it! Now if we could just get these phasers to work...

*Giggle!* Just think if you tried to use a cellphone in Moria! "No signal..." Perhaps Gandalf could jury rig his staff, or find some potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal lying around...heh heh! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Well, as for my own part, I am at 404 miles, and I've finally met Glorfindel! No description of him could have done justice to the reality. To quote the thoughts of Frodo:

To Frodo it appeared that a white light was shining through the form and raiment of the rider, as if through a thin veil.

The only thing I can liken it to is the rising aura I sometimes see around trees and some people, although that light is usually blue-green to violet, and Glorfindel shone with a white light. Needless to say, I forgot where I was and what I was doing and that I stood upon the Road in plain sight...what an amazing world! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Cheers,
Lyta

[Naz]

You have walked 361.74 miles.
You have reached the second camp in the Trollshaws (359).
It is 2.25999999999999 miles to the next landmark. You still have 96.26 miles to Rivendell.

The hobbits were glad to leave the cheerless lands and the perilous Road behind them; but this new country seemed threatening and unfriendly. As they went forward the hills about them steadily rose. Here and there upon heights and ridges they caught glimpses of ancient walls of stone, and the ruins of towers: they had an ominous look. Frodo, who was not walking, had time to gaze ahead and to think. He recalled Bilbo's account of his journey and the threatening towers on the hills north of the Road, in the country near the Troll's wood where his first serious adventure had happened. Frodo guessed that they were now in the same region, and wondered if by chance they would pass near the spot.

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

The darkness and the hovering presence of evil in this place weigh greatly upon my spirit. We came today to the Chamber of Mazarbul, and there discovered the fate of Balin and his Company. We could not stay to mourn, as we were set upon by many orcs and were forced to flee for our lives. Frodo was pinned to the wall by a orc spear and we feared he was dead. But it seems Bilbo has gifted him with a corslet of mithril that kept him from harm. Gandalf now leads us towards the Bridge of Khazad-Dûm. We hope we do not find it held against us.

--------------------

The chamber was lit by a wide shaft high in the further eastern wall...The light of the shaft fell directly on...a great slab of white stone.

"It looks like a tomb," muttered Frodo...On the slab runes were deeply graven..."He is dead then," said Frodo. "I feared it was so"...The Company of the Ring stood silent beside the tomb of Balin...But even as they retreated...a huge orc-chieftain...thrust with his spear straight at Frodo...and...was hurled against the wall and pinned...Aragorn picked up Frodo where he lay by the wall and made for the stair.."I am all right," gasped Frodo. "I can walk. Put me down!"...[Gandalf] "I feared it was a brave but dead hobbit that Aragorn was carrying."...[Frodo] "I feel as if I had been caught between a hammer an an anvil." He said no more. He found breating painful.

"You take after Bilbo," said Gandalf. "There is more about you than meets the eye, as I said of him long ago." Frodo wondered if the remark meant more than it said.

[Sapphire_Flame]

**You have walked 173.5 miles.
You have passed abandoned robbers den (172).
It is 6.5 miles to the next landmark.
You still have 284.5 miles to Rivendell.**

*skips along, humming* La dee dee da da da da du du...

Hobbits & Strider: -,-;;;

Abedithon le,

~*~Aranel~*~

[Naz]

You have walked 368.10 miles.
You have reached another camp in the Trollshaws (364).
It is 0.899999999999977 miles to the next landmark. You still have 89.9 miles to Rivendell.

The hills now began to shut them in. The Road behind held on its way to the River Bruinen, but both were now hidden from view. The travellers came into a long valley; narrow, deeply cloven, dark and silent. Trees with old and twisted roots hung over cliffs, and piled up behind into mounting slopes of pine-wood.

[Alatáriël Lossëhelin]

Gandalf has fallen! Our Company crossed the Bridge of Khazad-Dûm, but our friend remained upon the Bridge to hold the passage against the coming of the Balrog. Just as it seemed that we would escape unscathed, Gandalf was dragged into the abyss with his foe. Aragorn led us out of the eastern gates, and down Dimrill Dale along the Silverlode. There is no time for grief, as we must hasten from this place. The orcs will pursue us come nightfall.

--------------------

"A Balrog," muttered Gandalf..."What an evil fortune! And I am already weary."..."Over the bridge!" cried Gandalf..."I must hold the narrow way. Fly!"...Gandalf stood firm. "You cannot pass," he said..."I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Arnor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass."

...At that moment Gandalf lifted his staff, and crying aloud he smote the bridge before him...The bridge cracked. Right at the Balrog's feet it broke...With a terrible cry the Balrog fell forward...it swung its whip, and the thongs lashed and curled about the wizard's knees, dragging him to the brink. He staggered and fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss. "Fly, you fools!" he cried, and was gone.

...Aragorn roused them. "Come! I will lead you now!" he called..."Follow me!"...they came upon a deep well of water...from which a freshet fell over a stone lip..."Here is the spring from which the Silverlode rises," said Gimli...said Aragorn. "Our road leads beside it for many miles. For I shall take you by the road that Gandalf chose..."

[Rosie-Posey Sandybanks]

Better late than never! I have just learned about this quest and have decided to accept the challenge. I know I will not make it to Rivendell by Dec. 17, but I will get as far as I can and continue from there.

Very excited about this journey, I take up my walking stick and begin. At least Sam and Frodo are with me and I know all of you have gone before, so it is not uncharted territory. I hope to catch up sometime!

[ 1:55 AM December 04, 2003: Message edited by: Rosie-Posey Sandybanks ]