We could probably also chalk up an association between Rangers and a Stealth-and-Heavy-Combat focus to last year's execrable 'Shadow of Mordor' game. For a lot of 'mainstream' Tolkien fans, that may be a main source of familiarity with a misguided idea of Rangering...yet another reason it should've ...

I'll admit that I might have come up with the Rangers-as-SEALS connection, but I did not mean for the Rangers to be thought of as 'operators' or any sort of 'tactical', really. I certainly don't imagine them 'eliminating' orkish leaders or whatnot. It was meant only in regards to the way that the Ra...

Anyone know how to delete previously-uploaded files or whole pages on the MERWiki? I have some things that need updating and I'd prefer to get rid of the old ones when I'm done. Possible?

I'm glad to see the pictures came out so well, Odigan. It was a great time indeed! Near as we could figure, a Dunedain ranger, a Beorning, a Man of Lake-town, and two Hobbits (and a faithful hound) made camp in the Chetwood outside of Bree; well-fed, dry, and all the more merry thanks to the thunder...

Hey, I just wanted to be sure! I'm very much looking forward to this. It's getting a little down-to-the-wire, but I'm putting the finishing touches on my Tookish lass's new shortgown as we speak. With the projected weather forecast (and the fact that this is an overnight, hang-out-with-like-minds mo...

Also the name of the largest and only mentioned Inn in Micheal Delving. Not quite. While its name is certainly a reference to the real-life Eagle and Child, the 'Bird and Baby' does not occur in Tolkien's works--it is pure tertiary-source, LOTRO fantasy. To review, the named or known inns of the Sh...

Just double or triple checking re: the date.
This is going down the 14th and 15th of June, right? Because a week and a day from today is the 11th, and the 15th is a Monday, not a Sunday.
Assuming we're talking about the 14th and 15th, my partner and myself will be there, in hobbit gear.

It's all well and good to have sweet gear and kit, but to really get into the headspace of an individual in Middle-earth, it helps to be able to visualize things. I had started sketching these back in March (bored at a school board meeting!) and finally got them scanned in and touched up today. On t...

You might also try sleeping in similar conditions to how you'll be sleeping on the trail, a few days before your outing, with the goal of 'acclimating' your body to sleeping slightly uncomfortably. You might even stretch it out over a week or so--first night or two, sleep in your bed without a sheet...

I'm hoping someone in the north woods can help me out with this request. My attempts to contract with a history-craftsman buddy to procure materials for a 'honey-horn' seem to have fallen through, when I happened across this handy little tutorial (Jon's bushcraft site is an excellent resource for ev...

Man, your best resource is a book called, no joke, How To Shit In The Woods. It's definitely worth looking up.
Eat lots of fiber in the days leading up to your trip!

Nope, it's not a 'who would win' showdown...just another ramble-y, popscholarly essay! The deeper I get into Tolkien, the more interesting it gets!; little things I come across (and forget) manage to embed themselves somewhere in my brain, send down roots, and pop up when least expected much later! ...

First of all, congratulations on your decision to get out in the Wilds! We all want you to have an enjoyable time, so now, some suggestions. Ditto what E. said^ about not trusting the weather forecast--to me, Colorado is second only to Kentucky in terms of rapid and unexpected changes in weather. Be...

I don't know about this bow in particular but would like to add that in Ch 15 of The Hobbit , Thorin uses "a bow of horn" to shoot at a messenger during the parley at the gate of Erebor. So Dwarves were apparently familiar with composite bows in the Third Age-- and they're probably much mo...

Haha, I used to work at Conner under Nathan! I don't have the funds for a belt axe right now, but I can definitely vouch for the quality of his blacksmithing. Solid work.
But more importantly, your link is incomplete.