Hiking mountains on psychedelic mushrooms can be a bad idea. On May 24, at 9 a.m., 911 dispatchers in New York received a strange call from two hikers who were on Cascade Mountain in the Adirondacks. The hikers reported that their friend had died on the mountain and they needed help. An ambulance was dispatched to the trailhead, and rangers got to work locating the individuals.

　　But not all was as it seemed.

　　Then, when the hikers encountered the Cascade Mountain Summit Steward, a trained educator posted at the top of the mountain, they told them that they were lost.

　　According to a press release from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the steward quickly realized that the hikers were in an altered mental state.

　　The plot thickened shortly after when the supposedly deceased hiker called. It turned out that they werent dead after all, but had just gotten separated from the other two.

　　DEC Forest Ranger Rob Praczkajlo responded. He escorted the two hallucinating hikers down the mountain to the waiting ambulance and police unit. Ranger Praczkajlo then brought the lost third hiker back to the groups campsite. No one was reported injured.

　　GearJunkie contacted the DEC, but neither Ranger Praczkajlo nor a spokesperson was immediately available for comment on this story.

　　Hiking on Hallucinogens Doesnt Always End So Well

　　(Photo/Will Brendza) In a surprise to no one, hikers are known to sometimes take drugs on the trail. The hikers on Cascade Mountain this month were lucky that their situation wasnt worse, and that their friend was located alive. Other incidents havent ended quite so fortuitously.

　　In 2022, a woman hiking with a friend in Gold Bar, Wash., had taken psychedelic mushrooms. The two got separated, and when one of them returned, she reported her friend as missing. Her body was discovered in the river the following day.

　　In 2018, two snowshoers on Mount Seymour in North Vancouver took both ecstasy and cannabis and ended up in a violent knife fight. One of them reportedly had a psychotic break and attacked his companion. The two stabbed each other with Bowie knives, nearly killing one another. Both men were arrested when rescuers responded to the 911 calls.

　　Psychedelic substances arent the only culprit, either. Alcohol can similarly get people into trouble when out in the wilderness. In 2006, two men whod left a nearby bar in Vancouver ended up hiking down a trail on Burnaby Mountain and lost their way. They were discovered deceased at the bottom of a 200-foot ravine the following day.

　　Speaking to King 5 News about the 2022 death in Gold Bar, Dr. Nathan Sackett, a medical researcher at the University of Washington, said that it isnt necessarily these substances that are inherently dangerous. Its the environment in which they are taken. Particularly when it comes to psychedelics, accidents are prone to happen, he said.

　　“As psychedelics become culturally more normative, it’s really important that people know they should do them in a controlled environment,” Sackett said in the interview. “Hopefully, one day, people won’t have to hide in the woods to experience them.”

　　Lost Hiker Survived for 10 Days in Santa Cruz Mountains: 'It Was an Awesome Experience'The resident of Boulder Creek, Calif., set out on a familiar trail before his work shift — 10 days and a massive search effort later, the hiker was rescued when someone heard his cries for help. Read more