I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

“Little by little, one travels far.”

-J.R.R. Tolkien

Just a reminder, the 4th Annual KindSpring Eowyn Challenge is starting tomorrow. All welcome! More information is here:

Kindspring Eowyn Challenge IV
The party begins on our thread on Hobbit Day (September 22nd). The challenge begins the next day as we journey from Bag End to Rivendell on Middle Earth in our minds while tracking self-propelled forward motion made on Earth to correspond. Each day’s journey comes with notes from The Atlas of Middle Earth by Karen Fonstad as well as daily excerpts from The Journal of Samwise Gamgee. (Sam’s Journal was only recently published. It was discovered under a hay pile in the barn by his daughter, Elanor.) There is a corresponding website for each journal that will take anyone who wishes to continue the full 28 days until the journey’s end. All welcome.

Included in the 21-day challenge is the first three weeks of The Journal of Samwise Gamgee, illustrated by his daughter Elanor. You can find the full 28-day journal here:

Bag End to Rivendell (Frodo and company)

This first part of Frodo’s journey was 28 days, starting from Bag End on September 23rd and arriving in Rivendell on October 20th.

THE JOURNAL OF SAMWISE GAMGEE

Here below are the notes* Samwise Gamgee took along the journey. (Based on the meticulous milestone-marker notes on the Eowyn Challenge which are based on The Atlas of Middle Earth by Karen Fonstad which of course are based on all the wonderful works of J.R.R. Tolkien.).  To read Sam’s journey notes (as told to and illustrated by his daughter Elanor), click the links below.

DAY 1

DAY 2

Day 3

Day 4

DAY 5

DAY 6

DAY 7

DAY 8

DAY 9

DAY 10

DAY 11

DAY 12

DAY 13

Day 14

DAY 15

DAY 16

DAY 17

DAY 18

DAY 19

DAY 20

DAY 21

DAY 22

DAY 23

DAY 24

DAY 25

DAY 26

DAY 27

DAY 28

BACK TO EARTH AUTHOR NOTES

*This journal is a fanfiction creation by Niki Flow, based the beautiful works of J.R.R. Tolkien; on the meticulous milestone-marker notes in The Atlas of Middle Earth by Karen Fonstad and on the Eowyn Challenge website:

Bag End to Rivendell with Frodo and Company:  458 Miles

You can also convert your workout to miles using this nifty chart that a brilliant Middle Earth companion created some years ago.  I’ll be using my trusty steed, Solomon (my stationary bike) to make this journey.  So for every hour cycled at a slow slow speed, I can go just over 5 miles according to the chart below.

It’s my personal goal to use several different kinds of self-propelled forward motion to do every walk on this journey.  (See our new page, Éowyn).  I started hosting these challenges and creating milestone markers15 years ago in 2006. In 2012, our Facebook group went “there…” (over 900 miles) and a few went “back again” biking, swimming and bike riding over 2000 miles between March and December 12. That was the day The Hobbit was released in theaters. More about that wonderful group here:

I♥JRR

This walk followed the journey with Bilbo and Company from Bag End to Rivendell and then from Rivendell to the Lonely Mountain. I mostly used my stationary bike whom I named Solomon since Sam had a pony named Bill.  I have some challenges with walking, but I love to walk and dream of running again someday.  I hope that, by making these Middle Earth goals, I’ll get stronger and eventually be able to do just that.

Created with love,
♥. Dassa Fleam of Buckland (Niki Flow)