| Slieve Lamagan was the last summit of all the Mourne sevens that I had not yet camped on through the year. This was no accident. Unlike other summits the Mourne wall does not run over the summit of Slieve Lamagan. This leaves absolutely no shelter for a tent. I knew I would need a night with wind speed less than 20 mph to have any chance of sleep. Such calm conditions above 700 metres in the Mournes are very rare. Monday July 18th was just such an occasion. Conditions were absolutely perfect. I took the route up from Carrick Little car park to the saddle between Binnian and Lamagan then the steep rocky ascent to the summit. It was a hot evening with not a breath of wind to clear the sweat off my brow. Upon reaching the summit I set up camp right beside the summit cairn before descending down the other side a little way toward Cove Mountain where I knew there was a small stream from which I could source some water. | |||
 The view of Slieve Lamagan as I hiked into Annalong Valley. |
 As close to the summit as I could pitch the tent. |
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| Once I had returned with the water I settled down to enjoy the stunning evening. The air was so clear it looked like I could reach out and touch the Isle of Man. There was barely a breath of wind even on the summit. I was getting married later that same week so I took the time to also put some thought into my wedding speech. With no wind and pleasant temperatures sleeping was easy later that night. I woke at first light just before sunrise so I got up and out of the tent to enjoy it as the weather was just as clear and calm as it had been the night before. The sunrise was fantastic, rising just between Commedagh and Donard around 5.10am. It was a fantastic way to start the day. |
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 The absolutely stunning sunrise between Commedagh and Donard. |
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| Once the sun was up it was too bright and already beginning to get too warm to go back to sleep so I began to prepare breakfast and get ready for descending. The morning was as perfect as the previous evening had been. Early morning sea fog was reaching a little inland over Newcastle but it would not take the sun long to melt that away. The air was so still while I was descending Ben Crom Reservoir looked like a sheet of glass. | |||
 A little sea fog was reaching inland at sunrise |
 The water in Ben Crom Reservoir was completely still. |
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| Check out my long term plan to camp on all of the Mourne 500’s here | |||