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When New York state Forest Ranger Robert Praczkajlo set out to Cascade Mountain last Saturday, he thought he was looking for a body. What he encountered instead were two hikers who were very high on mushrooms, and, apparently, very scared that their friend was dead.
According to a weekly blotter released by New York’s Department of Environment Conservation (DEC), two hikers called 911 on the morning of May 24 to report that one of their hiking partners had died on Cascade, a 4,098-foot summit that’s the 36th-highest of the Adirondacks’ High Peaks. The first twist in the story occurred when the two hikers later encountered the Cascade Summit Steward, one of the wilderness interpreters who educate visitors, conduct research, and maintain trails in the High Peaks. The two hikers told the steward they were lost. According to the DEC, the steward determined that the hikers were, to use the common parlance, tripping balls.
And the dead hiker rangers were looking for? Very much alive. Soon after Praczkajlo set out, the third member of the hiking group called in and reported that they were uninjured. Instead of recovering a body, the ranger led the hiker back to the group’s campsite, and took their two lost friends, who the DEC said had “ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms,” to the trailhead, where an ambulance and New York State Police were waiting for them.
Psychedelics and wilderness can be a perilous mix. While death or permanent injury from overdosing on psilocybin is extremely rare, the perceptual changes and confusion psychonauts experience can be dangerous on the trail, where cliffs, rushing creeks, inclement weather, and other natural hazards are common. More than one hiker has died or needed rescue after taking mind-altering substances on the wrong trail and drowning or suffering a fall. Even when a hike under the influence doesn’t end in injury, it can end in a run-in with the police—just ask the various hikers in Backpacker’s hometown of Boulder, Colorado who have caught a charge after allegedly taking shrooms and stripping their clothes off in the Flatirons.
So, spiritual seekers and tripping day-trippers, take Backpacker’s advice: Imbibe responsibly—and always make sure you know where your hiking buddies are.
From 2025