There are two Rocky Mountains in the Mourne Mountains. The lower one at 404 metres is situated in the western Mournes near Pigeon Rock and Cock Mountains. This higher one, at 534 metres, is situated in the eastern Mournes. Along with Slieve Binnian, Rocky Mountain guards the entrance to the Annalong Valley and commands fine views of the valley, surrounding mountains, the coast and the Irish sea.

One approach is to follow the Bloody Bridge track starting at J389 270 A. Follow the track for about 4 kms up to the Mourne Wall and the Brandy Pad at J353 268 B. Turn left and follow the wall for just under 2 kms south where it skirts beneath the summit of Rocky Mountain. At approx J353 255 C strike out uphill for the short steep climb to the top. It is best to stay to the west of the wall as you approach from the Brandy Pad as it can be very difficult to find a place to climb over it due to its height on this stretch! As well as excellent views of Binnian, Lamagan, Cove and Slieve Beg, Rocky Mountain offers a fine view of the ridge of Chimney Rock Mountain across the valley to the NE. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/406/comment/5165/

If you’re a soldier at the top of Slieve Donard you can be hit by lightning and killed, apparently. Am I interested in the story? Is Socrates’ drowning student interested in air? The winter in the Mournes, having failed to make any impression on the year - at all, resorted to a fit of pique, a couple of Saturdays ago when M. Nature told it, it was Spring’s turn. Kicking and screaming, it blitzkreiged the gentle Mournes with salvos of ice needles and despatched the aforesaid squaddie to forever sentry duty. Rocky Mountain should not be confused with Rocky Mountain or in fact with Rocky Mountain. First, up off the Annalong; second at the White Water; and third ‘round about Rostrevor; and given it’s a great get-out to coming up with an actual name for a hill, probably thousands more between here and the Dakotas. The first proves a source of bewilderment to me. Barely a kink on the contours, attack it from the Annalong and be you ingénu enough to do this in the mirk, it will drain every ounce of resolve in you, out. You will bash heather, scramble, tumble, perhaps crumble. A broken leg, a broken head and a broken spirit await. Why? Because the most natural route off/on her, has none. Traverse ‘til the cows come home; even do a kind of corkscrew thing. But can you go straight up? Probably, but take a bivvy bag just in case. From Donard and pre-Donard, unnoticeable; from the Annalong - completely memorable. The buckshot hail would have rattled Ned Kelly; it was very dodgy weather. He was leading a party. With the hood cranked fully in and eyes welded shut from the assault, he announced that it was “not a bad day between the showers”. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/406/comment/2283/

Natural lakes are unfortunately a rapidly disappearing feature of the Mournes. Peat Bog succession has succeeded in filling in Blue Lough between Bearnagh and Doan and Cove Lough is today very quickly disappearing into the reeds. David Kirk correctly states that only two of these natural lakes worthy of the name remain, Binnian Lough on the high platform above the Douglas Crag and Blue Lough on the shoulder between Binnian and Lamagan in the valley below. Being at the head of one of the busier Mourne thoroughfares probably contributes somewhat to the continued survival of this waterhole against the onset of Peat succession. Or just maybe, as the picture shows, as sentinal's like Rocky Mountain keep a close eye from across the Annalong Valley it has no option but to stay put!! Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/406/comment/1473/

Rocky Mountain summit with Slieve Donard in the background Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/406/comment/1704/