Edge of the Wild

The Edge of the Wild was the counceptual boundary between most of Eriador, which was or had been a settled area, and the dangerous uplands leading to the Misty Mountains and the Wilderland beyond. Conceptually it was a north-south line that ran just to the west of the Ford of Bruinen. When one was over (or east) of the Edge of the Wild even the best of plans could easily go astray, as Gandalf was well aware.