Two hikers in New York’s Adirondack Mountains sparked a rescue mission over Memorial Day weekend because they ate psychedelic mushrooms, got lost, and were convinced their friend had died.
The incident occurred Saturday on Cascade Mountain, a popular trail near Lake Placid, according to a press release from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. Two hikers had dialed 911, claiming the third member of their party had died. The pair also encountered a summit steward, who quickly realized they were in an “altered mental state.”
The Summit stewards are volunteers or staff members of the Summit Stewardship Program, which is a partnership between the Adirondack Mountain Club, the Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. Summit stewards conduct research and trail maintenance, encourage Leave No Trace principles, and educate hikers about alpine ecology.
Forest ranger Robert Praczkajlo responded to the hikers’ call for help and escorted them off the trail, where an ambulance — and the New York State Police — were waiting. The friend who they thought had died also called during the rescue. Happily, authorities determined them to be alive and well, and they were helped back to their campsite by a forest ranger.
It is illegal to grow or possess psychedelic mushrooms in the state of New York. Even as psychedelics are growing in popularity for both recreational and medicinal uses, first responders caution against tripping in the woods. The Canada-based volunteer group North Shore Rescue puts it bluntly: “The combination of mind-altering drugs and being in the wilderness is a terrible and dangerous idea.”
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Unfortunately, these mushroom-munching hikers aren’t the only ones who’ve needed search-and-rescue assistance after making ill-advised decisions in the woods. On Monday, a hiker at Virginia’s Crabtree Falls fell to her death after crossing a safety railing to snap a photo. And in November, authorities rescued two hikers in New Hampshire whose cell phone batteries died on a 16-mile snowy hike on Mount Charleston. One of the hikers was wearing Crocs.
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