It occurs to me that context could be a large part of Aragorn's quote. Clearly not all the songs of Middle Earth are sad; the hobbits are quite fond of comic verse, if nothing else. But based on the darkness of the time period, it may well seem that all the songs are sad. A happy song in a sad hour ...

Udwin and Elleth, I'll definitely give it a watch. Thanks for the recommendation.

Kortoso, that looks pretty freaking cool. I might have to think about attending.

Peter, I think there's a reason it's reminiscent of a bug-out bag--it's totally my bug-out bag (minus some of the aesthetic flourishes). Elleth, The armor wasn't specifically for this kit, no. I didn't have anything in particular in mind when I made it, just wanted a mail vest. As for The Post Man, ...

Non-Tolkien Rangers, you say? Here's my loadout as John Gage, a frontier Ranger for the New California Republic. For those of you who aren't familiar, the NCR is a faction from the post-apocalyptic computer game Fallout: New Vegas. The Rangers patrol the wasteland that used to be California as well ...

This looks great! Way closer to the look of the thing from the book than my attempt. If you're not enjoying the 'doughy' flavor you mentioned the lard giving it, you might try substituting with clarified butter. It's got a plesant caramely/buttery flavor that might be a bit better. It's also very ea...

I might well try those options. I'm also considering recipes that would be more fat-based instead of water-based to boost calories per gram and delay spoilage.

RECIPE UPDATE: Another prerequisite for a good Lembas analogue would be longevity. This DOES NOT have that. It goes moldy quicker than any bread I've ever baked, probably due in part to the extremely high moisture content. For an overnight or three-day trip, they'll be fine. For much more than that,...

I'd like to see the museum original of which this is a replica.

Greg--great info on the Lembas. I think it's quite probable that the Professor's mind didn't even go to maize when he called the grain of the elves 'corn'. In my experience, 'corn' most often means barley outside of America (for example, 'korn' in Swedish), but can refer to virtually any grain. That...

All salt is sea salt--that is to say, all salt for human consumption is derived from saline bodies of water, ancient (rock salt, Himalayan sea salt) or modern (Table salt, Celtic sea salt). They're all mostly sodium chloride, with impurities. Table salt has artificial impurities like calcium silicat...

In order to replicate the run of the 3 hunters, I'll need a LOT of sustenance. I won't want to cook, either--the 3 hunters didn't, and it would take both time and additional equipment. Of course, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli had a solution: Lembas, the elven Waybread of Lothlórien. It's generally rec...

Wow, those observed falls are much more common than I would have guessed! Definitely makes it seem more likely that they knew it was extraterrestrial in origin.

Interesting. I wonder how/if they knew the significance of the metal they were using; most meteorites you find on the ground just look like black stones. It would take a huge leap of intuition to connect a shooting star with an unassuming black rock. If the meteorite used to make King Tut's dagger w...

Indeed. And I've never covered more than 20 miles a day on foot. But the unsupported record for the whole JMT is 3 days, 12 hours, and that's 211 miles, half as long again.

I'm embarking on marathon training in preparation for the feat.

UPDATE: I removed the handle from the side of the mug and put a tab to lift the lid off the pot. The lid tab is made from a section of brazing rod and is bent so that it's easy to grip without touching the hot lid of the pot.