How did Aragorn Reach Anduin from Erech so Quickly?

Q: How did Aragorn Reach Anduin from Erech so Quickly?

ANSWER: A reader asks the following:

I have been re-reading the Unfinished Tales an that has piqued my interest in the Geography of Middle Earth, and so looking at many versions of the maps of Middle Earth. Specifically, it appears Erech is quite high in the mountains. Even if the Paths of the Dead brought Aragorn and his companions to the south side of the White Mountains, there still seems to be a rather LONNNNG journey to reach the Anduin. Just how did he achieve this in such a short time?

So, just eyeballing the Gondor map that is published in the book, it appears to me that the road from Erech to Pelargir runs about 180-200 miles. I would expect that to be about a five-day journey on horseback. And as it turns out, Tolkien describes the journey in sufficient detail to confirm my estimate:

He fell silent; but Pippin and Merry were so eager for news that at last Legolas said: ‘I will tell you enough for your peace; for I felt not the horror, and I feared not the shadows of Men, powerless and frail as I deemed them.’

Swiftly then he told of the haunted road under the mountains, and the dark tryst at Erech, and the great ride thence, ninety leagues and three, to Pelargir on Anduin. ‘Four days and nights, and on into a fifth, we rode from the Black Stone,’ he said. ‘And lo! in the darkness of Mordor my hope rose; for in that gloom the Shadow Host seemed to grow stronger and more terrible to look upon. Some I saw riding, some striding, yet all moving with the same great speed. Silent they were, but there was a gleam in their eyes. In the uplands of Lamedon they overtook our horses, and swept round us, and would have passed us by, if Aragorn had not forbidden them.

‘At his command they fell back. “Even the shades of Men are obedient to his will,” I thought. “They may serve his needs yet! “

‘One day of light we rode, and then came the day without dawn, and still we rode on, and Ciril and Ringló we crossed; and on the third day we came to Linhir above the mouth of Gilrain. And there men of Lamedon contested the fords with fell folk of Umbar and Harad who had sailed up the river. But defenders and foes alike gave up the battle and fled when we came, crying out that the King of the Dead was upon them. Only Angbor, Lord of Lamedon, had the heart to abide us; and Aragorn bade him gather his folk and come behind, if they dared, when the Grey Host had passed.

‘ “At Pelargir the Heir of Isildur will have need of you,” he said.

‘Thus we crossed over Gilrain, driving the allies of Mordor in rout before us; and then we rested a while. But soon Aragorn arose, saying: “Lo! already Minas Tirith is assailed. I fear that it will fall ere we come to its aid.” So we mounted again before night had passed and went on with all the speed that our horses could endure over the plains of Lebennin.’

According to Appendix B, Aragorn enters the Paths of the Dead on March 8. He reaches Erech at midnight that same day (about an 18-hour journey under and through the mountain). After resting a bit Aragorn left Erech on March 9 and he crossed Ringlo on March 10. Aragorn reached Linhir on March 11. On March 12 he drives the enemy troops back toward Pelargir. He reached Pelargir on March 13.

In something like a normal battle fought solely by living forces one would expect a much longer march (unless one force had overwhelming strength or the other was trying to lay a trap). But I think that everyone’s fear of the Dead cleared the road very easily for Aragorn. So he would not have had to deal with many delays. He apparently paused to confer with Angbor, who led the defense against the Corsairs before Aragorn’s forces arrived. The last stretch was across plains (grasslands) in Lebennin, so I don’t think the journey would have been very difficult even at night.

It would be different, I think, if Aragorn and his companions had to cross open country rather than follow a Numenorean road. Although Legolas does not say how the road was constructed or whether it was maintained I think this is a case where a lack of mention about the road being in disrepair or too ancient to assist with travel is sufficient to show that the road was usable. We don’t need Tolkien to tell us that Aragorn remembered to put on his boots for us to assume that he is wearing his boots every time he runs across the the open countryside. So on a good road, especially where part of the journey leads downhill, I think the horses would make good time. Except for Gimli (who was riding with Legolas) all of the members of Aragorn’s company were experienced horsemen.

As I recall a good trail-riding horse can easily do 50 miles a day. So the trip from Erech to Pelargir, as described by Legolas, seems reasonable to me. Tolkien himself would have had some familiarity with how far horses could travel on good roads considering that millions of horses were used during the First World War (he also trained with King Edward’s Horse in 1913).

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