A method comprising: receiving, at an ingress node within a network, a request to forward a packet along a label-switched path to an egress node within the network; identifying a limit on the number of labels that the ingress node is capable of forwarding within a label stack of the packet, the limit being identified by: determining that the label stack of the packet contains labels that correspond to links within the label-switched path and additional labels that do not correspond to links within the label-switched path; and determining the limit by subtracting, from the total number of labels the ingress node is capable of forwarding, the number of labels the ingress node forwards that do not correspond to links within the label-switched path; determining that the number of hops within the label-switched path exceeds the limit on the number of labels that the ingress node is capable of forwarding; and in response to determining that the number of hops within the label-switched path exceeds the limit on the number of labels that the ingress node is capable of forwarding: selecting, based on the number of labels that the ingress node is capable of forwarding, at least one of the hops within the label-switched path to act as a delegation node that imposes, onto the label stack of the packet, at least one label corresponding to a downstream hop within the label-switched path; and forwarding the packet from the ingress node to the delegation node along the label-switched path to enable the delegation node to impose the label onto the label stack as the packet traverses toward the egress node. receiving, at an ingress node within a network, a request to forward a packet along a label-switched path to an egress node within the network; identifying a limit on the number of labels that the ingress node is capable of forwarding within a label stack of the packet, the limit being identified by: determining that the label stack of the packet contains labels that correspond to links within the label-switched path and additional labels that do not correspond to links within the label-switched path; and determining the limit by subtracting, from the total number of labels the ingress node is capable of forwarding, the number of labels the ingress node forwards that do not correspond to links within the label-switched path; determining that the label stack of the packet contains labels that correspond to links within the label-switched path and additional labels that do not correspond to links within the label-switched path; and determining the limit by subtracting, from the total number of labels the ingress node is capable of forwarding, the number of labels the ingress node forwards that do not correspond to links within the label-switched path; determining that the number of hops within the label-switched path exceeds the limit on the number of labels that the ingress node is capable of forwarding; and in response to determining that the number of hops within the label-switched path exceeds the limit on the number of labels that the ingress node is capable of forwarding: selecting, based on the number of labels that the ingress node is capable of forwarding, at least one of the hops within the label-switched path to act as a delegation node that imposes, onto the label stack of the packet, at least one label corresponding to a downstream hop within the label-switched path; and forwarding the packet from the ingress node to the delegation node along the label-switched path to enable the delegation node to impose the label onto the label stack as the packet traverses toward the egress node. selecting, based on the number of labels that the ingress node is capable of forwarding, at least one of the hops within the label-switched path to act as a delegation node that imposes, onto the label stack of the packet, at least one label corresponding to a downstream hop within the label-switched path; and forwarding the packet from the ingress node to the delegation node along the label-switched path to enable the delegation node to impose the label onto the label stack as the packet traverses toward the egress node.