NEW YORK – A hiking trip took a “trippy” turn that ended with a group having to be rescued from a popular mountain destination in New York State last month.
What we know:
Dispatch received a 911 text reporting that four hikers were lost near Giant Ledge in the Slide Mountain Wilderness of the Catskill Mountains.
The group had ingested psychedelic mushrooms, and one of them was experiencing a debilitating high, according to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
He was hallucinating about a nonexistent bridge, according to FOX News.
Less than two hours later, forest rangers found the stranded hikers less than 1,000 feet from the marked trail and guided them back to the trailhead for evaluation.
However, the rescue didn’t end there.
The hikers had lost their keys during the hike, which were found the next day under a log after a ranger hiked back up the trail.
Second time this year
The backstory:
FOX News reports that this is the second rescue involving mushrooms in the mountains of New York this year.
In May, two hikers who had taken psychedelic mushrooms mistakenly reported to authorities that a member of their party had died in the Adirondack Mountains.
They were rescued by a ranger, taken to a local hospital, then reunited with the third hiker at their campsite.
What are psychedelic mushrooms?
Dig deeper:
Psychedelic mushrooms contain psilocybin, a hallucinogen that can trigger vivid hallucinations, a warped sense of time and rapid mood swings.
They are commonly known as “magic mushrooms.”
In New York, it is illegal to possess, sell or cultivate psychedelic mushrooms.
