LOTR: Mordor - SS13 Traditional Cache
Skookum Bear: As there has been no response from the cache owner, I am regretfully archiving the cache.
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(small)
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Placed for the Spring Stomp 2013
Mordor is the realm of Sauron, in the southeast of Middle-earth to the East of Gondor, Ithilien and the great river. The Fellowship of the Ring was tasked to take the One Ring there to be destroyed. Mordor was chosen to be Sauron's fortress because of the mountain ranges surrounding it on three sides, creating a natural fortress against his enemies. Much of the land was a volcanic waste due to the activity of Mount Doom, but some could be cultivated and the Dark Lord's slaves raised food for his armies here as well.
Geography
Mordor was protected from three sides by mountain ranges, arranged roughly in a rectangular manner: Ash Mountains (Ered Lithui) in the north, Ephel Dúath (Mountains of Shadow) in the west and south. In the northwest corner of Mordor the deep valley of Udûn was the only entrance for large armies, and that is where Sauron built the Morännon, the Black Gate of Mordor. In front of the Black Gate lay the Dagorlad or the Battle Plain. Sauron's main fortress of Barad-dûr was at the foothills of Ered Lithui. To the southwest of Barad-dûr lay the arid plateau of Gorgoroth and Mount Doom (called Orodruin in Sindarin); to the east lay the plain of Lithlad. A narrow pass led through Ephel Dúath and the fortress of Minas Morgul (earlier Minas Ithil) was guarding that; an even more difficult pass, Tarech Ungol, was guarded by the giant spider Shelob and the stronghold of Cirith Ungol. Another known fortress was Durthang in northern Ephel Dúath. Mordor's geography was excellent for defense against enemies attacking on all fronts, for nearly unscalable mountains defended Mordor on three sides, while the broken, jagged land of Gorgoroth and Nurn would greatly impede any army that managed to break through. Mordor's dry and blasted geography would also be extremely unfriendly to any army bivouacked on the plains, forcing a withdrawal within days (unless they have stores sufficient for months). The southern part of Mordor, called Núrn, was slightly more fertile, and moist enough to carry the inland sea of Núrnen. Nurn was made somewhat fertile because the ash blown from Mount Doom left its soil nutrient rich, thus allowing dry-land farming. To the west of Mordor was the narrow land of Ithilien with the city of Osgiliath and the great river Anduin, while directly East of it was Rhûn, and to the southeast, Khand.
The east of Mordor is by far the least mentioned of any of Mordor's geographic notes and descriptions. One might assume that the easiest route to Mount Doom would be for the Fellowship to journey through the 'unguarded' section of the east, where no mountains guard; however, we are told in the Fellowship of the Ring that the area was heavily defended by a line of border forts facing Sauron's allies in Rhun. In theory, these forts have no use, because to get there they would have to pass along the western edge of Rhun, and Sauron's strongest allies, the Easterlings, abode there. Also it would have been difficult to pass unnoticed because of the many roads running from Mordor into Rhun were always being marched along by Easterlings entering Mordor or patrolling the roads and borders.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)