The proto-geography of the Third Age

[William Cloud Hicklin]

And though it’s completely irrelevant to the topic:
Quote:how on earth did it take Aragorn the Ranger many days to cover ground Thorin & Co. managed in a couple of hours?

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).

I was thinking specifically of the problem both Fonstad and C Tolkien bring up, the days taken between fording the river and the Stone-trolls (more glaring in the LR 1st Ed), whereas in TH both incidents occurred on the same night.

Response to the actual meat of your post when I have time.