Sam and Frodo walked all the way to Mordor, but how far did they really travel?

Tolkien described the hobbit path in detail, so it is possible to estimate its duration and distance.

The end of The Lord of the rings shows us that Frodo and Sam were the people or, rather, the right hobbits for the task on which the future of Middle-earth depended. The two friends They were able to cross the most dangerous landscapes to achieve your goal, reach Mount Doom and throw the One Ring into the lava. This outcome is reflected in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kingthat You can currently see it on Amazon Prime and HBO Max.

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Cover of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

As any fan of the franchise knows, the hobbit couple was not alone during the entire journeyalthough yes for a large part and, probably, the most important. At the beginningor from The Fellowship of the Ring we see Frodo leaving the Shire with the Ring in his pocket, accompanied by Sam, Merry and Pippin. The group of friends arrives at the Prancing Pony Inn in the town of Bree, where they meet Aragorn and are taken to Rivendell.

Over there, The Fellowship of the Ring will be formed and Legolas will join the journey, Boromir, Gandalf and Gimli, adding the nine members of the Company in charge of protecting Frodo, the bearer of the Ring. It is at that moment when the true path to Mount Doom beginshowever, after Gandalf’s disappearance in Moria and the death of Boromir, the Fellowship of the Ring separates definitely.

Members of the Fellowship of the Ring

Thus, Sam and Frodo are left defenseless before possible attacks from any of Sauron’s allies. Nevertheless, they would run into Gollum which, as Gandalf well predicted, would be key to reaching Mordor and put an end to the One Ring. Both protagonists will follow Gollum through the different landscapes and although they end up being betrayed by it, which takes them to Shelob’s lair, they achieve the objective and They achieve the salvation of all of Middle Earth.

It is evident that The narrative agility that cinema requires did not allow Peter Jackson to show the journey with literal times. captured in books. However, it is in these where we can find the clues that help us estimate a distance and duration from the journey of the hobbits.

Gollum took Frodo and Sam to Mordor

Tolkien described the hobbit path in detail, so it is possible to estimate its duration and distance.

JRR Tolkien focused a lot on contextualizing each landscape that the characters in his novels went through, so makes it easier to follow a chronological line. Additionally, the type of environment explains many of the times it took for the Company of the Ring to traverse certain areas. For example, crossing the arid deserts took them a long time while Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam walked at a much faster pace at the beginning of the journey when traveling along roads and paths.

However, the key that allows us to investigate the duration and distance of Sam and Frodo’s journey It is the map of Middle Earth created by Tolkien’s son,Christopher. After designing it in 1953, Tolkien called it the general map and included it in the original edition of the novel. In this, scale in miles included that, added to the time scale that Tolkien himself gives in the writings, allows you to measure the approximate kilometers traveled in total and daily.

Sam took care of Frodo all the way to Mordor

From his departure from the Shire, which had a darker ending than was shown in the movies, until his arrival at Mount Doom, it is estimated that Sam and Frodo traveled about 1,235 milesthat is to say, almost 2,000 kilometers. As for time, the novels specify the departure in September and the destruction of the ring on March 25, so The trip would last about six months.. However, we would have to subtract the time they stayed in Rivendell and their stay with the Lothlorian Elves, so the path would take about three months of walking.

In some sections they traveled by horse and boat, but the reality is that Sam and Frodo walked about 22 kilometers a day until they reached Mordor. This makes it clear that, considering the dangers they had to face and the weight of the Ring that could have transformed Frodo, The two hobbits were the definitive heroes of Middle Earth.