Mt Eisenhower is a big
mound of a summit in the Southern Presidentials which used to be called
Mt Clinton before taking on the name of President Dwight D Eisenhower,
the 34rd President of the US. Ike is an exciting summit at times due to high
winds. The summit used to have a giant pile of rocks (cairn) but the last time
I visited that pile was well spread out.
Please
be prepared before you enter this beautiful but dangerous area.
THE TRAILHEADS
♦Edmunds Path is located on Mt Clinton Road just north
of Crawford Depot in the heart of the notch off RT-302. It climbs moderately to the
♦Mt Eisenhower Loop Trail over the broad summit. This is the most
popular route with some trailwork on it done by Raynor Edmunds a long time ago.
Another popular trail is ♦Historic Crawford Path Which can be
accessed from RT302 or the Mt Clinton Road. There are large parking lots
available for hikers in the notch but it is not recommended you park at the
AMC Highland Center.
Crawford is a moderate trail which passes near Mt Pierce's flat summit
on it's way to the Southern part of the Ike loop. This might be the most popular route in winter, you can bag Pierce and Eisenhower in a day fairly easily.
THE MOUNTAIN
Mt Eisenhower is that tall round mountain you see when you drive through the notch passing the Mt Washington Hotel. I remember looking up at it on my first White Mountain hike to Mt Monroe in awe. It would be more than 8 years before I returned to hike to the summit.
