The proto-geography of the Third Age

[Kuruharan]

*Despite what T said in a letter many years later, TH *always* took place in the world of the Elvish legendarium; even the earliest drafts contain numerous references to things like the Three Kindreds, Gondolin, and even Beren and Luthien However the time-frame, while vague, seems to be not long after the events of what would later be called the First Age).

I find this rather curious. What in particular makes you think that TH was originally not very long after the events of the First Age? That's an impression that I never had myself.

I may be mis-remembering, but I thought the problem was the opposite – the journey from Hobbiton to Rivendell took Bilbo and the Dwarves quite a long time while Frodo and company made it quite quickly (and without ponies).

Actually, both problems existed.