Redhorn Gate Pass and Moria

The Redhorn Gate Pass was to the south of Caradhras and the cliff wall beneath which they passed was to their left, with a deep ravine on their right. (The Ring Goes South; Bk 1.) When they turned back, Gandalf led them south, not along the path by which they had come. (A Journey in the Dark; Bk 1.)

When they camped for the night (and were attacked by wolves) he told the Companions that the Moria Gate was 15 miles south-west of Caradhras as the crow flies. The next morning they set off to find the old Dwarf path and finally came upon the dried-up course of the Sirannon. They went on up a deep trough in a narrow valley closed at the end by a towering cliff face that was part of the peak Celebdil. (A Journey in the Dark; Bk 1.) It is shown in the drawing of Moria Gate by Tolkien. The bed of the river was not above the tree line as there were holly trees on the shore of the lake, but it must have been higher than the Great Gates on the other side of the caves, in Dimrill Dale, because of the many flights of stairs within the mountain.

This day was a very long one. Gandalf told them that the whole distance beneath the mountain was 40 miles. On their second day in the passages they covered 15 miles direct, or 20 as the road wound, which brought them nearly to the other side. On the first day (or rather night), therefore, they must have covered nearly 20 miles after passing Durin’s Door and this after a good 9 or 10 miles from their overnight camp. Clearly under pressure of extreme danger the Hobbits could manage more than their normal maximum of 24 miles.

It is difficult not to be confusing when one is plotting both caves and the mountains under which they lie. The contour lines here represent the outer surface.

 

Moria East Gate and Mirrormere

They slept in the Twenty-first Hall, which must have been high enough up to be very near the surface, as they could see daylight through a shaft. They were above and to the north of the Great Gates. (A Journey in the Dark; Bk 1.) They went north from here and found the Chamber of Mazarbul – Balin’s Tomb – on their right. After their battle with the Ores here they escaped through the other door and down many flights of stairs covering about a mile in horizontal distance. (The Bridge of Khazad-dûm; Bk 1.)

This led them to the Second Hall, which they entered east of the fiery chasm which had split the floor of the hall. The narrow bridge from which Gandalf fell led from this Hall to a broad stair, along a wide road, through the First Hall to the Great Gates – about a quarter of a mile in all. (The Bridge of Khazad-dûm; Bk 1.) Again there are difficulties when one is plotting both caves and the mountains under which they lie.

After Gandalf fell the others fled this way and finally came through the broken doors and the Great Gates to the open air. There is a picture of the path below the Gates. At some stage down the mountain side the path from the Gates must have joined Dimrill Stair winding down from the Redhorn Pass. The picture shows the path as it crosses the river Dimrill towards the east, and it must, therefore, presumably have run past Durin’s Stone down the east side of Mirrormere. (Lothlórien; Bk 1.)

 

East Gate, Dimrill Dale and Nimrodel

After passing the end of the lake they came to the deep well which was the source of the Silverlode, and the path now ran down the right bank of the river. They rested where another stream joined the young river in a dell of fir trees still 'only a few miles' from the Gates, and went on for another three hours – say a further 10 miles – till they came to the Golden Wood. They were now 15 miles from the Gates. After another mile they came to the junction of the Nimrodel, waded across it and went up it, past the falls, till they found some trees where they proposed to sleep and were surprised by the elves.

Incidentally this was another day when the Hobbits managed to get two suppers. (Lothlórien; Bk 1.)

 

21. Lórien

Trees bordered the Anduin on both sides of the point where the Silverlode (also known as the Celebrant, literally silver-course) flowed into it. Mallorn trees grew on both sides of the Silverlode but there were none on the east side of the Anduin. (Farewell to Lórien; Bk 1.)

The old road from Moria ran along the right bank of the Silverlode. Dol Guldur, Sauron’s fortress before he moved to Barad-dûr, was just across the Anduin and the old road must have led there. Dol Guldur was visible – or nearly so – from Cerin Amroth, which was on a hill. (Lothlórien; Bk 1.)

Right at the tip of the Naith, where the two rivers joined, was the green lawn of the Tongue, and a little distance up the Silverlode from there was the hythe where the boats were moored. (Farewell to Lórien; Bk 1.)

 

Anduin and Limlight

The Anduin ran through a steep valley above Lothlórien, which widened out further north where the River Gladden ran into it through great marshes. Here Isildur fell and lost the Ring. (The Shadow of the Past; Bk 1; The Disaster of the Gladden Fields; Unfinished Tales.)

Dol Guldur was set on Amon Lanc (Naked Hill), so called because there were no trees on the summit. It was the highest point of this part of Mirkwood. (The Disaster of the Gladden Fields; Unfinished Tales.)

Bare trees lined both banks of the Great River downstream of the Silverlode. (It was February.) The travellers slept among the trees for the first two nights. On the third day the trees thinned out and vanished and they were able to see that on the left bank were the wastes of the Brown Lands and on the right wide plains of grass and forests of reeds.

Just before the point where the river Limlight joined the Anduin, Aragorn told them that they were then about 180 miles south of the Southfarthing – say some 240 miles south of Hobbiton. The Limlight rose in Fangorn and was the northern frontier of Rohan.

On the fourth night they camped on an eyot near to the west bank, and Gollum was seen. (The Great River; Bk 1.)

 

Anduin and Rohan

After Gollum appeared Aragorn decided that they would have to go faster and they paddled instead of floating with the current. Also they took to travelling by night.

By the eighth night the banks were getting higher and rockier, but Aragorn miscalculated and thought they still had many miles to go before they reached the Rapids of Sarn Gebir. Around midnight, however, they realised that they were entering them. (The Great River; Bk 1.)