The title of this episode comes from Aragorn's description of his experiences to Boromir, at the Council of Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring: "I have had a hard life and a long; and the leagues that lie between here and Gondor are a small part in the count of my journeys. I have crossed many mountains and many rivers, and trodden many plains, even into the far countries of Rhûn and Harad where the stars are strange."
Círdan (Ben Daniels) mentions the great Elven poets Rúmil and Daeron. Both are figures from J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium and are mentioned in Appendix E of "The Lord of the Rings".