Frost to the Forehead

Extended the Frost–Butler loop for the first time to tag the Forehead, and navigated four ladder sections with doggy in tow

Written: Jul 27, 2026
Date hiked: Jul 25, 2026
Peak: Mount Mansfield (3,940 feet)
Distance: ~6.5 miles
Town: Underhill
State: Vermont

I like friday morning hikes. I had work so started at the trailhead at 6:15. It was a cooler than usual late-July morning — 61°F on the app, probably 10 degrees colder up high.

The first three-quarters of a mile on the Frost trail was punishing, as usual. Then the trail (and me) stabilized and hit a rhythm.

Wooden trail stairs emerging from lush summer foliage, dog waiting at the top — I admired the drop-in stair design here. Brooklyn approved too.

About a mile and a half up, once the lower bushy high-altitude scrub gave way to more exposed rock, the sun finally cleared the mountain. I’d been chasing a sunrise since the last hike. Got it this time.

Morning silhouette of Mt. Mansfield ridge with radio towers and The Chin visible, sun rising behind — The Chin to the left, The Forehead ahead

We past the Maple Ridge junction. Past the gap; the one the Green Mountain Club warns about for dogs and small children. Brooklyn crossed it before I finished reading the sign. That knot of anxiety was loosened and I hoped worry of ladders would feel the same…

Maple Ridge Trail sign: Forehead .8, Underhill State Park 2.9, Stevensville via Frost Tr 2.1 — The sign that marks where the new territory began

Black dog standing on exposed granite summit rocks, Green Mountains spreading out behind her — Brooklyn sniffing out the route on high-alpine rock

The Forehead at 3,940’.

Selfie at The Forehead summit sign, elevation 3940, clear blue sky — Made it

Looking straight down a steep granite ledge drop, spruce trees and hazy ridgeline below — It does drop off

The ladders

Previous me was anxious about the ladders on the Long Trail south of the Forehead. I now have first-hand data.

Rock Garden Trail sign: Butler Lodge .7mi — Rock Garden Trail connector, Butler Lodge .7mi

Four sections total. The first was a non-event — Brooklyn found the bypass before I saw the ladder. The next two were the kind where a ladder is the only way down, no scampering around this one, girl. She knew what was coming and reluctantly agreed to me putting on her leash. I then awkwardly carried her down one rung at a time.

Two wooden ladders ascending steep granite slabs in series — Two in a row

Looking up a single long wooden ladder bolted to a near-vertical granite face — Tallest one

Wooden ladder wedged into a narrow granite crevice — Wedged into the crack

Brooklyn standing on steep slick rock at top of a ladder section, surveying the drop below — Brooklyn considering her options

Clumsy. Annoying. Doable. I had a passing thought about building a practice ladder at home to train her. I suspect I’m not the first person in Underhill to have that idea.

In hindsight, going down was the right direction. Lifting a dog up a ladder while fighting gravity is a different thing entirely. Four ladder sections down: manageable. Up: would have been a much worse time.

The conclusion: I’d do it again.

Descending the now familiar Butler trail felt like a reward.

Strava route map showing the full loop: Frost up, Maple Ridge across, Long Trail to the Forehead, then Butler Lodge down — The full loop, finally extended to the summit

This was the first time I’ve done the Frost–Butler loop and continued past the Rock Garden Trail junction, up Maple Ridge to the Forehead, then south on the Long Trail to meet Butler Lodge. All the new ground was between those two junctions — and that’s where all the ladders live.

I’ve been slowly expanding what I’m willing to attempt on each hike. Breaking into my imagined worry slowly. Filling in the mental map more with each one. The gap on Maple Ridge was laughable. The ladders manageable.

Listening to How to Be an Adult (David Richo, 1991) on the way up. I keep swearing off self-help books, but keep gravitating back. It’s a good one. Jung translated into the modern world. Still relevant 35 years later.