A typical traveler who stays close to the road, brings basic supplies, and lingers no longer than necessary, will probably have no difficulties passing through the Lone-lands. Unless there's bad weather, or bad luck. With a few tips from someone familiar with the perils of the region, even longer stays or bouts of misfortune can be survived, and most of the discomforts avoided.
Water
Finding enough water to keep yourself (and horses if you bring any) from suffering from dehydration is perhaps the greatest challenge. It's nearly impossible to bring along enough water for the journey, water is hard to find, and there are sources of water that are safest avoided.
No matter which direction you travel or how long you stay, avoid the pool near Broken Bridge, and the waters in the marshes of Talath Gaun. If you stay at the Forsaken Inn, you may choose to drink some of Anlaf's ale or other brews if you're desperate for beverage (or suffering), but do not consider it a means of satisfying thirst (in fact, it will tend to make you need healthy drink more).
Always fill up as much as you can before entering the Lone-lands. When traveling west, drink as much as you can at the Hoarwell, and fill any canteens you carry. Encourage horses to drink from the river (if they refuse, it can help to use canteens or other containers to bring water from the river to a pot they can drink from). If visiting from the Soft Lands, there are several small ponds in the green grassy lands near the road not far from the Forsaken Inn at which to fill up.
There is a spring about halfway up the west side of Weathertop which runs clear and cold, yet rarely freezes over even in the coldest part of winter. The climb is arduous, but there is no source of clean water in the western reaches of the Lone-land that compares. You can avoid using it if you cover enough ground quickly, and start filled up, and if all goes well (but as you near Weathertop, consider whether you should stop, if you've been delayed, the weather is more drying than you anticipated, or for any reason you think you might not reach your next opportunity).
The Ruin-Pool near Ost Guruth is perhaps the best source for water, and it falls almost midway between the east and west ends of the Lone-lands. You must simply be prepared to either scare off, or wait out, any wild animals that are already drinking at it when you arrive, so approach it with caution. Coaxing horses to drink at it can be challenging since some horses are reluctant to step onto ruin-stones; bringing water to a cooking pot is a good way around this.
Above all, pay attention to your own sense of thirst. If you start to feel parched, and especially if you grow dizzy or have trouble focusing, stop what you're doing and seek a source of safe water as near as possible. But you should notice when you're starting to feel thirsty long before you reach this point, and plan how your journey can bring you to a source of water well in advance. When the weather is especially hot or windy, keep in mind that you may get thirsty more quickly than you anticipated. In very cold weather, thirst is often the last thing on your mind, but cold does not reduce your need for water, so take it just as seriously in cold as you would in heat.
Food
The best thing to do about food when crossing the Lone-lands is to bring enough for the journey. There will be little foraging or hunting for the traveler passing through, and the time you spend on either will only require you to linger, which makes you need more food (and more importantly, more water). A skilled hunter who is familiar with the wildlife and also the lay of the land may well feed herself as she travels, but it's best even for the skilled to consider hunting as a supplement to make trail rations last longer, rather than counting on it to survive.
The food at the Forsaken Inn is unpleasant, and may put you off the idea of eating at the sight and smell of it. But as awful as it is, it will (if you take basic precautions) keep you free from hunger. Just watch for mold (and scrape it off). If you can't bear the taste, buy bread and carry it with you. A day later (if other sources of food don't pan out) the bread may seem a lot more palatable after all.
For longer stays in the Lone-lands, the most important survival tip is to not set your sights on bigger prey like antelopes, deer, and especially boars. The best way to feed yourself in the wilderness of the Lone-lands is to focus on grouse and rabbits. Watch the feather grass for movements that might reveal the location of rabbits. Look for dense clumps of sagebrush to find the grouse within. Traps can be more effective than arrows if you have the time, so don't neglect the possibility of trapping. If you hunt, cook what you catch using dead-fall or dried clumps of bunchgrass; do not cut down trees.
While traveling or hunting, if you happen to see an edible plant, don't pass it up; any source of sustenance can help. (But don't take it all, either; leave enough of the plant for it to grow back. Remember, if you're eating it, it's because someone else did that last time.) But don't spend much time searching for them; unless you know every fold of the land, you'll make yourself hungry from the effort faster than you'll fill yourself up.
Grazing your horses is relatively easy; one doesn't even have to take more than a few steps off the road to find grasses that a horse will eat. Just be sure, as in any other place, to give them enough time to graze. You may wish to precede the horse into the grass so you can scare off any snakes before they scare off your horse.
Shelter
The Forsaken Inn is an unpleasant place, particularly if you stay more than a few days, but it does serve as shelter. If the weather is pleasant and mild, you can certainly camp instead, but in more inclement weather, consider how camping more than you have to can deplete your supplies, wear you out, and make you thirsty. A night in the uncomfortable beds of the Inn may be unwelcoming, but it'll help you complete your journey safely.
Sources of shelter from inclement weather between the Inn and Ost Guruth are not many, nor easy to find. There are a number of gullies and folds in the land which can offer more shelter than you'd expect; put a campfire in the narrowest point and pull a blanket over your head, and you can wait out heat, cold, and snow. In storms and heat, the peak of Weathertop, though a tiring climb to get to, is generally calm and surprisingly safe and sheltered, despite that the unroofed ring of pillars do not actually block wind, rain, or snow. Near Thandobel stands a tall rock (named Iorvinas) which has caves within it, with a Dwarf-made door at their entrance, which provide excellent shelter from winter storms or stifling heat.
If you can't find one of those shelters, or the weather is not so harsh and you simply need to camp, the best place (for those unfamiliar with every contour of the land) is near the road. This takes many travelers by surprise; in other lands, it is safest to find a hidden spot away from the road, to avoid bandits and other unsavory visitors. In the Lone-lands, the wild animals mostly avoid the road, the goblins typically stay in or near the hills, and there's little threat of burglars going through your possessions. The best option is to find one of the trees that stands on a hilltop near the road (as it will provide shade and a small amount of wind-break) and set up your tent or camp below it. (The tree also provides a place to hitch horses, if needed.)
The most important thing to remember is that when the winds blow strong, the need for shelter can be more serious than you realize at first. Do not wait until the need for shelter is upon you before you start to seek it out. The careful traveler always knows (at every step of the journey) the way to the nearest source of shelter, just as she knows where water is nearby.
When near Ost Guruth, stop in and visit the Eglain. Our hospitality may not be the equal of the fine inns and taverns of the cities in the Soft Lands, but we will provide shelter and respite, and are always eager to trade.
Self-Defense
The best method of self-defense in the Lone-lands, as in most places, is to avoid having to fight at all. Staying near the road, avoiding goblin camps (which are plainly visible by day), not traveling by night, not camping beside the hills, and avoiding Minas Eriol and Naerost, will be sufficient to make the risk of goblin attacks almost nil. In Talath Gaun, avoiding wolf dens, boars, the hills, and the marshes will keep the traveler safe.
If you do find yourself in a fight with goblins, the methods of battle are the same as with goblins in other lands. Those which invade the Lone-lands are not especially hardy nor clever (save the strange goblin-men creatures of Naerost, but even they are fought much the same way). Goblins will shriek and threaten, but they are cowardly at heart, so a fierce countenance, a strong roar, and an unflagging hand on the axe (or sword, if you prefer) is enough to make them hesitate. Still, if you are not skilled at battle, your best option is to run; goblins are stupid, but they are mean, and their spear-tips have spilled blood before. Even if you know your axe well, be wary that there may be more goblins than you realize; get surrounded, and even the doughtiest warrior may fall.
Wolves, on the other hand, are almost always better run away from. A strong and skilled warrior may well emerge triumphant from a fight with one or two wolves, and a company can defeat a pack. But no victory against wolves will be without cost, save one done at a great distance or from a height; you may be sure even the best swordsman in all the lands of Eriador will emerge with his own blood on him, and injuries that will need a healer's hands. Hunting wolves for pelts is something done with care, on a battlefield of your choice, and a plan your company has made before you even set out, and even so, it is likely to end in injury. But simply fighting wolves is done without preparation, probably in a place of their choosing, and the best you can hope for is weeks of recovery while being lectured by a healer about your irresponsible waste of valuable bandages.
Should you choose to enter the Lone-lands hoping to fight anyone else, about the only other option is the Eglain. In this case, my advice is for you to choose something else. If you must persist, leave your weapons at home. Better that your kin should get to keep them. Perhaps they will use them more wisely.
Healing
The herbs described in the Flora chapter can help those skilled at healing, but some may work differently than the herbs you're used to from other lands, so it's best to use them with caution. The best option, should you find yourself in the Lone-lands and in need of healing, is to make your way to Ost Guruth and ask for the aid of our healer, Strangsig. Be prepared for her to explain in agonizing detail all the mistakes you made while getting yourself into a situation that requires her help, and all the steps you must now take to ensure your recovery is complete. But you can also be sure that she will put you to rights, as well as your injuries permit. After you're well enough to travel, she will ask only that you do a few days of work to pay for your care (depending on your own skills, that work may be cutting firewood, tending chickens, traveling the land to gather whatever herbs she needs restocked, hunting meat for the tribe, or something similar).
