On Sunday I went on a road trip to the Mourne Mountains and ended up getting my arse handed to me! This was my third visit. My first two were in September 2022 and May 2023 (video link). Both of these trips were near perfect and I really enjoyed them. I was hoping for a perfect hat-trick but this time I was denied. I guess I was due….

A big part of the problem was myself and my planning. I was determined that it had to be this weekend to fit in with my work schedule and my plans for next weekend. The weather was always going to be iffy (drizzle and showers in the afternoon with a risk of low cloud) but with fairly mild temperatures and not much wind I figured it would be OK.

My plan was to wild camp on Slieve Bearnagh and with a good Monday morning forecast I was hoping for a good hike and a chance to practice my camping strategy before next week. Maybe even a lovely sunrise…

My route planning was the biggest problem. I’d copied the route from Paddy Dillon’s book Exploring The North of Ireland and converted it to a digital version on Outdoor Active. Paddy’s book works in both KM and miles and somehow I’d gotten it into my head that the total route was 10km. It was 10miles or 16km!

My plan was to start late, around noon, allow a conservative 4hrs to summit Bearnagh and have an hour or two to find a good camping spot and get set up well before dark.

Instead of Bearnagh being 8km into the walk it was 8 miles and with an awful lot of up before that. I only realised this distance error when I was 1.5 hours into my hike.

The terrain also wasn’t what I expected and I made a bad choice of footwear. On my previous trips I’d worn my usual leather boots and gaiters but I was amazed by the lovely gravelly tracks and absence of bog that I’m accustomed to in Donegal. I expected the same again and went for the lighter option of my Topo Athletic Terraventure boots. What I didn’t allow for was the difference between walking in March versus May and September and the deluge of rain we have suffered for the last 8-10 months. The tracks and paths were swimming with runoff and the ground was soggy and boggy. The boots coped fine with both but the bottoms of my trousers were soon soaked which inevitably led to wet socks and wet feet.

The route follows The Mourne Way from Meelmore Lodge around Fofanny Dam Reservoir and after a short stretch of road joins The Ott Track and into the higher ground. The waymarked path is supposed to follow a raised bank along the edge of the reservoir but it was closed due to a problem at the Southern end. However, there was no marked diversion. A vague path was visible through the long grass to the opposite East side of the channel that the track should follow. This turned out to be horrible ground. It was wet and boggy with long grass and hidden holes. At the end of this section I was then on the wrong side of two fairly substantial streams that I had to negotiate before scrambling over a wall back into the forest and on to the official path. By now my lower legs were soaked and one boot had been submerged in a hidden bog hole leaving me very disheartened and feeling sorry for myself. To add insult to injury I’d been walking in steady, heavy drizzle pretty much from the start of the walk.

Leaving the road and heading along the Ott Track I started to climb up into the cloud and it was at this stage I realised my mistake about how long the route actually was.

The track in the photo above peters out and a series of rocky then boggy then rocky once again sections brought me to the Mourne Wall which was to be my constant companion for the rest of the day. Over the stile I met a young couple with a small toddler (not much more than a year old I’d say?) that the fella had been carrying in one of those back pack carriers. It must have seemed like a good idea at some stage but they looked fairly miserable when I met them!

The first summit was Slieve Loughshannagh (619m) and was a steady but manageable climb from the stile.

I stopped for a short break just off the summit and I’m pretty sure it was here that my head went. It was back to the heavy drizzle, I couldn’t see a thing, I had 7.5km done, 3 more summits to go, all with steep climbs and the weight of my bag was really starting to make itself felt. I was contemplating descending Slieve Loughshannagh and taking the path that skirts around and avoids Slieve Meelbeg and Meelmore completely to bring me to the base of Slieve Bearnagh. However, at the base I somehow overcame this urge and pushed on.

Slieve Meelbeg (708m) is a damn steep climb from this side and it seemed to take forever to get to the summit. I was counting steps and taking lots of short breaks to ease the burning in my legs and to try and keep my heart rate under some kind of control. My bag felt like a ton weight by now.

Looking at the map it wasn’t exactly clear where the summit was in relation to the Wall but it soon dawned on me that it was on the other side but I wasn’t going to attempt climbing over just to touch the cairn. By clambering up enough to see over the Wall I was automatically higher than the summit anyway 😉

At the top of Meelbeg I was ready to give up and go home. I was feeling really sorry for myself and had another opt out option at the next col. I’d had enough of the rain and low cloud and was really tired. I was dreading the climb to Meelmore, the drop to the col and the big climb to Bearnagh. I was starting to panic about time and getting set up for camp.

The drop down off Meelbeg was pretty easy and rather than give my mind any more space I simply plowed on, ignoring the other path options and headed up Meelmore. This was a much gentler climb than Meelbeg to the summit at 687m. Once again though I was on the wrong side of the Wall and so focused on the shelter at the corner of the Wall I actually walked past the summit without realising it!

On the way up Meelmore the drizzle finally stopped for a while and as I approached the shelter there was a brief lift in the clouds giving me a short tantalising view of the valley below and across to the bulk of Bearnagh. This lifted my spirits considerably and I was getting my head back in the zone, feeling like I could do this after all. A short break here, out of the wind, some food to boost my mood and energy, descend to the col, restock my water and push on to Bearnagh with hopefully enough daylight left to find a decent camp spot.

As I finished my snack the cloud thickened and the rain returned. This time it was light rain rather than drizzle. The descent from Meelbeg is pretty tough. The ground is very steep and incredibly rocky. Large slabs and rocks made for difficult path finding and the hard, uneven surface demanded full attention. This was exhausting both physically and mentally. About halfway down it got quite dark and windy and the rain turned heavy making the already wet rocks even more slippery. By the time I reached the col below Bearnagh I was soaked and done in. Getting battered by the wind I scrambled over the stile in the Wall and found what shelter I could in the lee out of the wind.

Staring across at Bearnagh the route looked like it was almost vertical. The rocky face disappeared into the clouds and I simply gave up! I seriously doubted I could physically make it up to the summit and with the disappearing light and increasing winds I began to panic about finding a camping spot and getting a tent set up for the night. I knew I could divert here and take the path down to meet The Trassey Track and back to my car at Meelmore Lodge. The thought of a wet camp and having to get dressed in the morning in my wet clothes and boots really didn’t sound like fun.

Leaving the Wall I slowly trudged my way down the track. I was totally demoralised, wet and exhausted and dreading the walk back to the car. The path was a mess. It was mostly submerged in 3-5cm of running water as the mountains shed the latest rain and the strong gusts buffeting my back made me unsteady on already tired legs.

As an example of my state of mind I was half an hour down the track when I realised I was carrying about 500ml of water that I no longer needed and that would go a small way towards lightening my load. It took me at least 5 goes to get the slippery empty bottle back into my side pocket. I dropped it every time and I have a clear memory of yelling FUCK! and almost throwing it in the nearby river….

Approximately half an hour further on the weather changed in a matter of minutes. The clouds lifted and the rain stopped. A beautiful setting sun appeared in the distance ahead of me and the mountains suddenly appeared behind me. It sounds nonsense now but it was like the mountains decided that day that I didn’t belong. They chewed me up after Meelbeg and spat me back out and when I was almost away they were like “fuck you, this is what you missed!“

It took me almost 1.5 hours to walk back to the car. Approximately 4km and mostly downhill. There were two tricky stream crossings just after I left The Trassey Track but at that stage I could see the car and couldn’t care so pretty much just splashed across!

The physical demands of the route, the difficulty of the terrain and weather plus the impact of carrying the additional weight of a camping setup really caught me out. This was supposed to be a final preparation for my multi day trip this weekend and a chance to practice my camping strategy. Instead it really knocked my confidence and created extra concerns. It took me until Wednesday to recover fully with a lot of aches up until lunchtime and it was only yesterday that I felt mentally confident to stop worrying about the upcoming trip and get my head in the right place.

The upcoming trip is Stage 6 of the International Appalachian Trail Ulster-Ireland: Dungiven to Castlerock Incorporating The North Sperrins Way. It’s 62km and I’m aiming for 3 days with wild camping on both nights. The weather on Sunday and Tuesday looks OK but wet on Monday which will be my longest day. However, although the distances are greater there is nothing like the elevation changes of Sunday. I’m staying positive and giving myself lots of time to get to the spots I’ve picked out.