Four hikers who admitted to taking psychedelic mushrooms had to be rescued by forest rangers in New York’s Catskill Mountains after “experiencing a debilitating high,” according to officials.
The Ray Brook Dispatch received a 911 satellite text via Ulster County from a hiker reporting that a group of four was lost near Giant Ledge in the Slide Mountain Wilderness.
According to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the original caller admitted the group had consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms and said they were lost around 5 p.m. on Aug. 29. One of the hikers was hallucinating a bridge that did not exist, according to The New York Times.
They had wandered approximately 1,000 feet away from the marked trail.
Forest Rangers located the group of hikers at 6:45 p.m. and the Pine Hill Fire Department assisted them to the trailhead, where they were all evaluated by Shandaken Ambulance.
“Somewhere along the way, the hikers also lost their car keys. Rangers provided a courtesy ride to the subjects’ rental lodging,” DEC said in a statement. “The following day, Ranger Martin hiked back up and found a sling bag with the keys under a log in tall ferns.”
Russell Martin, a forest ranger who helped in the rescue, told The New York Times that he is “not an expert in mushrooms” but the hikers “definitely rode highs and lows.”
Martin did not provide the name of the unfortunate hikers, but did note that they were all men in their 20s.
On Sept. 4, the Police Benevolent Association of New York State released a statement commending the Forest Ranger members who assisted in the recent rescue.
“The PBA of New York State commends our Forest Ranger members in the Hudson Valley for their recent rescue of four hikers who were lost in a state wilderness area while experiencing a debilitating psychedelic mushroom high,” said James McCartney, president of the Police Benevolent Association of New York State.
“The PBA of New York State is proud to highlight our Forest Rangers and all members’ continued dedication to public safety in the face of difficulty and danger,” added McCartney.
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This isn’t the first time hikers have had to call police after taking hallucinogenic mushrooms while hiking in New York.
In May, two hikes in the Adirondack Mountains called 911 to report that a third member of their party had died, but it turned out they had taken hallucinogenic mushrooms and were mistaken.
A state forest ranger responded to a call in late May about a hiker who had reportedly died on Cascade Mountain, a popular summit in the Adirondack High Peaks, the Department of Environmental Conservation said in a news release.
The two hikers who called 911 also told a steward on the mountain’s summit that they were lost. The steward “determined the hikers were in an altered mental state,” according to the agency.
The supposedly dead person called and was not injured.
The ranger escorted the two hikers down to an ambulance, which took them to a hospital, and brought the third to the group’s campsite, where they all later met up, officials said.
— With files from The Associated Press