Hike Safely
Knowing your limitations, the terrain is very rugged with elevation gains as much as 4100`. So take your time, pay attention to your body signals and enjoy the views.
Compass: (magnetic declination is 19.5 degrees west map is oriented to true north)
Upon Arrival
Speak to the rangers for hiking conditions above treeline. Park Managers can restrict all hiking or climbing above treeline if conditions warrant it. Choose a route that best fits you and your groups abilities, sign in and out at all trail heads. Stay on the trails, not only protecting the alpine plants, but most lost, injuries and fatalities occur when people wonder off the trails.
Emergency Contacts
If an accident or injury should occur know where you are on the map and send someone via the safest trail to the nearest Ranger Station for help.

FROSTBITE

• Move the person to a warm area.
• Put affected areas in warm water.
• Seperate toes and fingers with guaze.
• Drink warm fluids.
• If sensations are not back within 30 minutes seek medical help.

Hiking List

• Proper hiking boots / Extra socks
  Put some foot powder in a baggie, half way through a hike stick your foot in, cooling and moisture relief, this can feel pretty good.
• WATER, WATER, WATER,
  Hydration
  Dehydration is a major concern in winter. Because the air is as dry as a desert, your body loses its water at a greatly accelerated rate. Breathing through the mouth during exertion exposes a large area of moisture rich mucous membrane to this super dry air, speeding dehydration even further. Even when you are inactive, the body loses moisture through a process known as insensible sweating. It tries to stabilize humidity levels at the surface of your skin, and ends up giving away still more water.
  Compounding the problem of keeping hydrated is the fact that the body hoards its warmth during cold weather by vasoconstriction by reducing the blood plasma volume. It tries to pool much of the blood to the body core to provide an extra measure of insulation (which is why you have to pee so much when you first go out). Because of this it is normal for your hands and feet to be colder than the rest of you. The body, faced with cold, says 'Brain and innards come first. Hands and feets yer on yer own!" This can become a critical situation when you are dehydrated because the thickened blood won't reach to the constricted capillaries of the extremities. The chances of getting frostbite and becoming hypothermic are increased considerably.
  Proper hydration will held you stay warmer. As a matter of fact, the old saw "If your feet are cold, put on a hat" should be amended to include something about having something to drink also. Many high altitude climbers credit proper hydration with their ability to acclimatize (and also come back with all their toes).
  In summertime, when the body is dehydrated, we feel thirsty. This is not so in the winter. Staying hydrated in the winter, especially during great exertion, must be a conscious and deliberate act. Must be a conscious and deliberate act. And so I invoke the grand mnemonic again; drink BEFORE you are thirsty.
  Drink as much water as comfort allows, and that will probably be enough. Some books recommend a specific amount that you should drink, such as 4 quarts a day, but in reality, it depends upon how active you are and to a lesser extent, on your personal metabolism. There is a saying that's used for determining proper hydration: "CLEAR AND COPIOUS" refers to the color and volume of your urine. Ideally your urine should pale yellow or colorless, signifying that you're drinking enough. If you are peeing orange colored urine, especially during the day, drink!
• Wool hat and mittens
  May seem like a waste of space but if its cold you will be glad you have them.
• Map
  Map of the area, the one the park gives you won`t do. Baxter State Park maps can be found at most book stores.
  The Mountainwanderer
• Food:
  Hearty snack or trail mix, fruit, apple, banana, presliced cantaloupe, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will stay with you, soft wraps with ham, cheese, pickles are pretty resilient to crushing. Cheese, granola, rice cake ,oatmeal bars. Have a good hearty breakfast of hot oatmeal. Bagels on the way are nice.
  The book Trailside`s Trailfood by The Editors of Backpacker Magazine is a great idea book from water intake to trail munchies to full blown nutritious dinners. I highly recommend this one.
• Bugspray & sunscreen:
  I use the Avon Skin so soft with sunscreen, gets both things done with the same tube. This will prevent a burnt nose and ears. Throw a tube of lip balm in your pack.
• First aid kit:
  Little baggies work great for these, and you don't need enough for a week on a day hike so bring just a couple, aspirin, bandaids, sterile pads, cotton swabs for those intrusions in the eyes, eye wash.
  Have a blister forming? Take some duct tape but before applying it to the hot spot, take a disposable razor shave the hair away from the area where the tape will be stuck, otherwise the tape pulls at the hair. Extra shoelaces, tweezers, first aid cream. throw in an emergency blanket into the bottom of the pack.
• Layering of Clothing
  One of the most important things when traveling in the winter is to understand the essence of the layering concept in clothing; many light layers being preferable to one heavy thick layer. Reading about layering from a book is all well and good but I've seen many people ignore its true use when they get out on trail. (Aw, it's too much of a pain to stop and take clothes off now. And besides, where will I put them? I'm a little hot but maybe I'll wait.) Having a plan for easy storage of all your clothing is a good start to making use of layering.
  This brings me to the grand mnemonic device system of winter travel: remove clothing BEFORE you sweat, put it back on BEFORE you get cold. (There'll be more befores, before we're done.) Chances are, if you are sweating you are wearing too much. Remember that your insulation works best when dry. If you must sweat, do it with as little on as possible. When you stop to take a break, start putting clothes on almost immediately after stopping.
  HINT: I keep an extra set of clothes in the truck so when I get back I`ll have warm dry and odor free clothes to get into.
• A flashlight:
  I just have a small headlamp, it is light good enough so I`m not completely in the dark.
• Whistle:
  beats hollering, carries much farther than a voice.
• Waterproof
  matches, or a couple of good lighters. OR
  (I think this is from the Boy Scouts) Take an egg carton, put a string into the middle of each egg spot, supported by a coat hanger, for wicks, place a couple of cotton balls, shaved wood, bits of newspaper into each spot, then using some melted wax pour into each spot making a candle that will burn for 7 to 10 minutes. Just break a couple off and throw them in your pack.
• Chapstick
• Knife
• Sunglasses
• Duct tape
  Wrap your water containers or walking pole a few times for your own supply, makes it easy to carry. Can be most useful for fixing tears, holes, covering hot spots on your feet or just about anything.
• Weather
  Keep an eye on the weather, don`t want to be caught up there during a thunderstorm, that can be a little unnerving let alone not safe. Also if you get wet you have to keep a watch for hypothermia.