So there’s a couple different trails to follow: the West Summit trail and the East Summit trail. West Summit is more of a hike, and East Summit is more bouldering, and a good deal more difficult and treacherous. They both lead to the same summit. The West Summit trail starts a ways northwest of Litt...

My friends and I hiked up Pinnacle Mountain near Little Rock today. Lovely views!

If I were in Medieval Europe and had no other choice, I would probably bring back backpacks and such, like Iodo and Jack have said. I might also introduce soft, durable insoles, if I could manage it. My feet are oddly shaped, and I like my insoles. If I were to stay in Arkansas, I would probably see...

So how often, if at all, do you think the rangers used boats of various different sizes and shapes?

It really is. And there's a few moth-holes in them, so free weathering!

I am super late to this discussion, but I love the Ruana cloaks I've made. I made a blue fleece one for my wife (that I have borrowed on multiple occasions), and a green fleece one for a friend. Both of them were lovely and soft and warm, and incredibly versatile! Good for any season--except the dra...

I have a wool ruana cloak that I've been working on a bit, but progress has been slow with life being what it is. My coworkers at the museum I work at gave me a box full of old wool blankets and fabric that the museum costume department never used, so I have more than enough material!

This is something that I've thought of often since I began thinking about rangers as wandering warriors. How far within Eriador and without would a Dunedain ranger's business take them? And how many would go as far as Gondor or Rohan, or even to the western beginning of the Misty Mountains at all? H...

Happy birthday!

Be assured that it caused my parents much consternation that I was going out there in my nice stuff. Not because I might be attacked or anything—just because I always came home with dirty boots. On the plus side, cleaning and polishing my own shoes has since become muscle memory.

Ahh, very good! I had forgotten about that. Thanks, Udwin.

Yeah, as far as I know, distilled spirits are much newer than beers and wines and other fermented drinks. But the existence of the Brandywine and the Brandybucks is interesting for this purpose.

Does anyone have particular thoughts on the existence of distilled spirits like whisky, brandy, or gin in Middle Earth? There’s plenty of mention of beer and wine, as well as the Elven miruvor. But what about the sort of thing you can set fire to? Perhaps equally important, is there any reason to be...

Yeaahhhhh... I haven't watched it, since I have no desire to support the Dread Wyrm Jeff Bezos' ever-growing money-hoard, but what I've heard is not great. It seems to me that all these recent fantasy shows and movies have neglected something very important about how to achieve a unique fantasy stor...

Posca's good stuff! I usually do a mixture of water and red wine vinegar so that the water just turns pink. Took some with me on my last hike, and both myself and my friend felt pretty good about it.