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⏵ Course guide · New Hampshire trail race

Baldface Scramble Course Guide

The Baldface Scramble is a two-loop technical trail race out of Baldface Farm in Chatham, New Hampshire, built around real hands-on-rock scrambling across the exposed Baldface ledges in Evans Notch. The name is not marketing. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan sized to a shorter, technical mountain effort rather than a full ultra. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Baldface Scramble quick facts

Date
Saturday, July 25, 2026
Location
Baldface Farm, Chatham, NH, off Route 113, Evans Notch
Distances
29K / 17.8 mi (two-loop) and 14K (single loop)
Elevation gain
29K: 6,226 ft total · max elevation about 3,578 ft
Guidance
29K: roughly 9-hour guidance (enforcement not confirmed for current edition)
Terrain
Hands-on-rock scrambling on exposed Baldface ledges; loop 2 adds Mount Meader
Prerequisite
Race recommends 10-plus miles of prior technical trail race experience before entering

These facts come from the official White Mountain Endurance race page. Check the current date, time guidance, and aid station plan in the race-day details before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.

The course: two loops, and the ledges get you both times

The 29K runs two loops out of Baldface Farm on Route 113 in Evans Notch, 17.8 miles total with 6,226 feet of climbing and a max elevation around 3,578 feet. Both loops share a fully stocked aid station near mile 8.6. The 14K covers the same terrain as a single loop for runners who want the scramble without doing it twice.

Loop one: the Baldface ledges

The first loop takes you up onto the exposed Baldface ledges, and this is where the race earns its name. It is not steep hiking with a few rocky patches. It is real hands-on-rock scrambling across open granite, with genuine exposure and consequences if you get careless. Move deliberately here. The race recommends 10-plus miles of prior technical trail race experience before you enter, and the ledges are exactly why.

Footwork and hand placement matter as much as fitness on this section. Runners who have practiced scrambling move through here efficiently. Runners who have not tend to slow to a crawl, and that costs real time on both loops.

Loop two: the ledges again, plus Mount Meader

After the shared aid station near mile 8.6, loop two repeats the Baldface ledges and then adds Mount Meader on top of it. This is where the format punishes anyone who burned too much on loop one. You are back on the same technical terrain, except now your legs and your grip strength have already done it once.

Pace loop one with loop two in mind. If you scramble the ledges conservatively the first time through, you arrive at Mount Meader with something left. If you push loop one because it feels good, the second pass through the ledges turns slow and sloppy exactly where you cannot afford it.

Aid and logistics

The shared aid station near mile 8.6 is fully stocked and serves both loops, which simplifies your planning: know what you need at that one stop and plan around it twice. Evans Notch in late July runs warm, and the exposed ledge sections offer little shade, so treat sun and heat as part of the technical challenge, not separate from it.

Pacing strategy for a technical two-loop course

With 6,226 feet of climbing and real scrambling packed into 17.8 miles across two loops, Baldface rewards controlled, technical movement far more than raw running speed.

Pace the ledges by control, not by the clock

Your normal running pace is not the number that matters on the Baldface ledges. What matters is moving over exposed rock without wasting energy or taking a fall, which usually means a slower, steadier cadence than your legs want to give you. Use a grade-adjusted pace to set honest expectations for the climbing sections, then add real margin for the scrambling itself, since no pace calculator accounts for hands-on-rock terrain.

Build a finish window that respects two passes through the technical terrain

Do not estimate your Baldface finish off a normal trail race pace. The two-loop format means you cross the hardest terrain twice, and the second pass is slower because your legs and grip are already worked. A vert-aware finish prediction gives you a realistic window for the 6,226 feet of climbing, and from there you can sanity-check your plan against the roughly 9-hour guidance for the 29K.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for a shorter, technical effort

Baldface is not an ultra, so the fueling plan does not need to be one. Most runners are out somewhere in the 3 to 9 hour range, and the slow, deliberate pace the ledges force actually works in your favor for eating.

Carbs: enough to hold the climbs and the scrambling, nothing complicated

For an effort in this range, 40 to 70 grams of carbohydrate per hour covers most runners, and you can lean toward the higher end if the day runs long for you or the heat is up. The slower pace forced by the technical ledges gives you more time to eat than the raw mileage suggests, so use the climbs and the scrambling sections to get calories in rather than trying to eat while running the short flat stretches.

Sodium and fluid: scale to the July heat

Evans Notch in late July can run warm with little shade on the exposed ledges, so scale sodium up if you are sweating heavily, generally toward the 400 to 700 mg per liter range for a hot day. Carry enough fluid to cover both loops between the aid station visits, since the technical terrain means you cannot count on making up time if you run short.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and the Evans Notch heat with the free ultra fueling calculator. Browse the rest of the free running tools at the tools hub.

⏵ Train for it with Summit Line

Get a race-day plan built around YOUR fitness, this exact two-loop course profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for the technical climbing, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Baldface Scramble FAQ

How hard is the Baldface Scramble?

Baldface Scramble is one of the more technical short-course mountain races in the Northeast. The 29K covers 17.8 miles with 6,226 feet of total climbing over two loops, and the defining feature is real hands-on-rock scrambling across the exposed Baldface ledges, not just steep hiking. The race itself recommends you have at least 10 miles of prior technical trail race experience before you enter, which tells you plenty about what to expect underfoot.

How much climbing is in the Baldface Scramble?

The 29K totals 6,226 feet of climbing over its 17.8 miles, with a max elevation around 3,578 feet. The course runs two loops, and the second loop adds Mount Meader on top of the Baldface ledges you already crossed in loop one, so the climbing is loaded toward the back half rather than front-loaded.

What makes the Baldface ledges technical?

This is not runnable singletrack with a few rocky patches. The Baldface ledges require real hands-on-rock scrambling: exposed granite slabs where you are using your hands as much as your feet, with real consequences for a fall. That is why the race recommends prior technical trail race experience, and why fitness alone will not get you through the ledges quickly if you have never moved over terrain like this before.

How does the two-loop format work at Baldface?

The 29K runs two loops from Baldface Farm, sharing a fully stocked aid station at around mile 8.6. The first loop crosses the exposed Baldface ledges, and the second loop repeats that terrain and adds Mount Meader, so the technical climbing and the exposure both stack up rather than easing off. The 14K is a single loop for runners who want the terrain without the second lap.

What are the time expectations for the Baldface Scramble?

The 29K carries roughly 9-hour guidance, though the exact enforcement has not been confirmed for the current edition, so treat it as a planning target rather than a guaranteed hard cutoff and confirm the current-year details in the official athlete guide. Given the technical ledges and 6,226 feet of climbing packed into 17.8 miles, that window is tighter than it sounds on paper.

How should I fuel for the Baldface Scramble?

This is a shorter, harder effort than an ultra, likely somewhere in the range of 3 to 9 hours depending on your pace on the ledges, so fueling matters but does not need the full ultra treatment. A simple plan of 40 to 70 grams of carbohydrate per hour covers most runners at this distance, with sodium scaled to how much you sweat in the Evans Notch summer heat. Because the terrain forces so much hiking and scrambling, you likely have more time to eat than the mileage alone suggests, so use it. Dial in your own numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator.

This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, time guidance, and aid station plan come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official White Mountain Endurance race page before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.