ForGreatScience
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2015
- Messages
- 58
Hello everyone, I just felt like bringing up this topic based on a recent experience and some others in the past. Sorry if there is another some thread about this, I didn't see one.
A big part of psychedelic harm reduction to me is the situations which people put themselves in where tripping. It seems like one of the thing peoples most like to do on psychedelics is go hiking in the wilderness. Which is great and can lead to some of the most incredible experiences in the world. However, one has to take some important things into consideration to ensure their safety in situations like these. This will hopefully mostly sound like common sense but I feel it needs saying.
Face it: taking several-hour-long, strenuous hikes in exposed sunlight is probably not something you do on your average day. And taking psychedelics probably isn't either. So when you combine the too of them you are bound to get an experience that is very intense for your mind and body. If you're not probably prepared for a hike (or other strenuous outdoor activity) then there are potential for things going really wrong. And it seems like too many people just don't know how to properly prepare for hikes.
First thing first: HYDRATION - Bring as much WATER on any hike as you can carry. Camelbaks and the like and great, but don't assume that just one full bladder of that will be enough water for your hike, even if it seems like a short one (many "short" hikes can be deceiving) - Throw some extra bottles in your backpack with it. Basically at LEAST twice as what you possibly think you could drink on the hike you're going on. It's easy to become dehydrated quickly without realizing it, and once you are dehydrated it is very hard to catch up.
You would think bringing water on a hike would be pretty much a no-brainer but somehow people do manage to forget to do this. I once hiked/bouldered up quite a ways in the desert with a few people (all of us having taken LSD). It wasn't until we reached a peak pretty far from our camp that we realized I was the only person to have brought any water at all. I of course shared what I had with them, but it was a stressful situation because that was water I had figured I would need myself. I stupidly assumed other people had grabbed water while we were preparing to go on the hike, but all of us were already on sort of a different level at that point so common-sense things like food/water were forgotten. Thankfully, that day everyone made it back to camp and was fine, but it's easy to see how a situation like that could have escalated to something much worse.
The lesson is that before you go on a hike, you should take care in packing a backpack of supplies you will/may need. And before you leave check with the other people in your group to ensure they are in fact prepared. On top of water you should definitely bring some food with you to nourish yourself. Sunscreen is always good - put in on before but take some with you can reapply it when you sweat that coat off. Evaluate the weather - will you need to bring a jacket? It's always good to have a basic first aid kit with you, and a flashlight/headlamp (particularly if you're starting later in the day). Basically, think ahead.
Even sometimes when you seem totally prepared though you can get yourself into a tough situation. Nature is powerful. It can and will kill you if you give it the chance.
On my last trip, a friend and I set off the hike to the top of some dunes near our campsite. It seemed like a modest hike, only a few miles. We had breakfast, and I tried to make sure to drink plenty of water in the morning to start off hydrated. Also had a pack with plenty of food and water. Then we dropped some tabs and set off. I felt like I was drinking water plentifully on the way up but it was very strenuous and I was sweating a lot. Also the come-up was making me feel a bit nauseous so I realize now that this was discouraging me from drinking as much water I really needed. I was really feeling the heat of the sun strongly, and everything was completely exposed, so sitting down didn't feel like I was resting. This made me want to just keep driving so we could get the hike over with faster, which probably pushed me too hard. Anyways, we successfully made it up the dunes and down, but by the end I was in a clearly dehydrated state, in too much distress to really enjoy the trip. Getting back to camp was a huge relief, but it took me the rest of the day of laying in camp continuously drinking water/eating to feel rehydrated/nourished/okay.
The point is, even if you think are relatively prepared and experienced you can still get yourself into some trouble - so you better be as damn prepared as you possibly can be so you can deal with respond to trouble that comes up in appropriate ways. Think ahead, and be safe out here.
There's much more to be said about other elements of safety but I'll feel like I've been typing for quite a while so I'll leave it here for now. Please feel free to add, I plan to be adding more suggestions on how to stay safe in the outdoors.
A big part of psychedelic harm reduction to me is the situations which people put themselves in where tripping. It seems like one of the thing peoples most like to do on psychedelics is go hiking in the wilderness. Which is great and can lead to some of the most incredible experiences in the world. However, one has to take some important things into consideration to ensure their safety in situations like these. This will hopefully mostly sound like common sense but I feel it needs saying.
Face it: taking several-hour-long, strenuous hikes in exposed sunlight is probably not something you do on your average day. And taking psychedelics probably isn't either. So when you combine the too of them you are bound to get an experience that is very intense for your mind and body. If you're not probably prepared for a hike (or other strenuous outdoor activity) then there are potential for things going really wrong. And it seems like too many people just don't know how to properly prepare for hikes.
First thing first: HYDRATION - Bring as much WATER on any hike as you can carry. Camelbaks and the like and great, but don't assume that just one full bladder of that will be enough water for your hike, even if it seems like a short one (many "short" hikes can be deceiving) - Throw some extra bottles in your backpack with it. Basically at LEAST twice as what you possibly think you could drink on the hike you're going on. It's easy to become dehydrated quickly without realizing it, and once you are dehydrated it is very hard to catch up.
You would think bringing water on a hike would be pretty much a no-brainer but somehow people do manage to forget to do this. I once hiked/bouldered up quite a ways in the desert with a few people (all of us having taken LSD). It wasn't until we reached a peak pretty far from our camp that we realized I was the only person to have brought any water at all. I of course shared what I had with them, but it was a stressful situation because that was water I had figured I would need myself. I stupidly assumed other people had grabbed water while we were preparing to go on the hike, but all of us were already on sort of a different level at that point so common-sense things like food/water were forgotten. Thankfully, that day everyone made it back to camp and was fine, but it's easy to see how a situation like that could have escalated to something much worse.
The lesson is that before you go on a hike, you should take care in packing a backpack of supplies you will/may need. And before you leave check with the other people in your group to ensure they are in fact prepared. On top of water you should definitely bring some food with you to nourish yourself. Sunscreen is always good - put in on before but take some with you can reapply it when you sweat that coat off. Evaluate the weather - will you need to bring a jacket? It's always good to have a basic first aid kit with you, and a flashlight/headlamp (particularly if you're starting later in the day). Basically, think ahead.
Even sometimes when you seem totally prepared though you can get yourself into a tough situation. Nature is powerful. It can and will kill you if you give it the chance.
On my last trip, a friend and I set off the hike to the top of some dunes near our campsite. It seemed like a modest hike, only a few miles. We had breakfast, and I tried to make sure to drink plenty of water in the morning to start off hydrated. Also had a pack with plenty of food and water. Then we dropped some tabs and set off. I felt like I was drinking water plentifully on the way up but it was very strenuous and I was sweating a lot. Also the come-up was making me feel a bit nauseous so I realize now that this was discouraging me from drinking as much water I really needed. I was really feeling the heat of the sun strongly, and everything was completely exposed, so sitting down didn't feel like I was resting. This made me want to just keep driving so we could get the hike over with faster, which probably pushed me too hard. Anyways, we successfully made it up the dunes and down, but by the end I was in a clearly dehydrated state, in too much distress to really enjoy the trip. Getting back to camp was a huge relief, but it took me the rest of the day of laying in camp continuously drinking water/eating to feel rehydrated/nourished/okay.
The point is, even if you think are relatively prepared and experienced you can still get yourself into some trouble - so you better be as damn prepared as you possibly can be so you can deal with respond to trouble that comes up in appropriate ways. Think ahead, and be safe out here.
There's much more to be said about other elements of safety but I'll feel like I've been typing for quite a while so I'll leave it here for now. Please feel free to add, I plan to be adding more suggestions on how to stay safe in the outdoors.
