Substance: Psilocybe Cubensis / 1.4g
Date/time: 2011-11-25, 8:30pm
Location: Yosemite National Park
Experience: First time
Ever since the first time I smoked cannabis, which is about four years ago, I've been intrigued by psychedelic substances. I have had significant experience with cannabis, and a little bit of JWH-018, but had never taken any psychedelic before. I have spent a lot, probably way too much time on the bluelight forums and erowid reading about different psychedelics. I finally managed to acquire some dry Psilocybe Cubensis mushrooms (Texas strain), and held on to them for a month before I found a good opportunity to use them: camping on the banks of the Merced river in Yosemite National Park.
After a good day hike and dinner in the park, we made it back to camp by around 7pm. It was already pitch dark, and pretty cold, since it was a new moon night in November. I was with two close friends of mine, let's call them K and M. We hurriedly got a fire going and put on some layers of warm clothes. My friends weren't going to join me on the trip, so they opened up some beers, while I prepared my mushroom tea. K has had a few mushroom trips before, while M hasn't, but they were both supportive and I'm very comfortable with them being around. I decided to go with 1.4g for my first trip since I wanted to test the waters before diving into the deep end. I cut up the shrooms and steeped it in the boiling water for 10 minutes along with a bag of lemon tea. The tea tasted pretty good, dominated by the lemon flavor. I drank it over a span of ten minutes (at around 8:30pm), and then waited with excitement and little bit of trepidation for something to happen. The time markers below are approximate: I had a watch on me but I wasn't really taking notes during the trip.
T + 0:30
I felt more relaxed and weighed down than normal. My hands got a little numb at times. I was afraid of getting nauseous since I had a full stomach, but this never happened.
T + 0:45
I started to see the first signs of visual distortions. Things seemed to be shimmering and rippling around me. The fire was very interesting, and I enjoyed looking at the detailed patterns on the burning logs of wood. There was hardly any mental component to the trip so far, only visual.
T + 1:00
I got up to get my music player from the car, since I thought I might need it later. I felt a little clumsy and uncoordinated trying to do this. Everything around me looked a little different than normal, but I couldn't quite put a finger on it.
T + 1:30
By this point, M had already turned in for the night, and it was already "lights out" time at camp. All our camp neighbors were in bed too, which left just K and I outside talking to each other in hushed voices. I stared intently into the fire like never before. I noticed patterns in the burning wood like a smiley face (which made me smile) and a fire-breathing dragon with glowing eyes. The fire also made us warm and toasty, and there was no physical discomfort whatsoever.
T + 2:00
I found myself in a really deep conversation with K, about life, the universe, evolution, the errant ways of humankind and so on. Probably due to my full stomach, the trip had come on so gently that I hadn't even realized it. I was definitely in a different headspace now. I was still able to speak clearly, for the most part. Thoughts were lucid, clear, and very deep. There was no confusion or forgetfulness like I usually experience on cannabis. I was really enjoying it.
At some point, I got up to pee (yes, outdoors, on a bush). It came quite easily, unlike some reports that I'd read. Peeing outdoors in the wilderness felt really primal and animalistic. Although obvious, I had the "realization" that human beings are just another species of animal with fancy tools and technology. This was a recurring theme throughout my trip.
I had my headlamp on, and I looked around at the trees, river and everything around me. I felt like my vision was enhanced. My 3D perception seemed sharper than real life, if there could be such a thing! I looked up at the beautiful star-lit sky framed by the tall trees. I felt a very comforting vibe from the trees, and felt very calm and peaceful.
I went back and remarked to K that my trip essentially felt like "life++" - my feelings and emotions were enhanced, thoughts were clear and deep, and vision was better.
T + 2:30
Still deep in conversation, we heard some splashing sounds in the nearby river. We looked around with our headlamps but saw nothing.
T + 2:45
We heard a deep loud grunt from behind us, which was unmistakably that of a large animal. (Yosemite has a high population of bears, and it also happened to be the season when they try to pack in as many calories as they possibly can before their winter sleep.) K immediately sprang up and said, "In the tent, NOW!" I jumped in after her as fast I could. K was trembling with fright. From her account the next day, her blood had instantaneously run cold upon hearing the grunt. It was an instinctive fear, not one of rational thought, and it was a greater fear than anything she had ever felt before. Strangely, my psilocin-addled brain remained somewhat calm. Of course, I experienced fear too, but it was more rational than deep in my bones. In the commotion, M had woken up and started freaking out when he heard about why we were in the tent all of a sudden. We managed to shut him up and remained still and motionless, for fear of attracting the animal towards us.
T + 2:55
5 minutes had passed without a sound, so we decided to peep through the window of the tent and shine our headlamps around. This was obviously a bad idea because we heard a few more grunts as soon as we shone our lamps in one particular direction. We learnt our lesson, shut the window, turned off all lights, and stayed put for what felt like a really long time. We heard the grunts now and then, at least around twenty times in the next hour, from different directions and distances.
T + 3:30
We were freezing in the tent, being away from the fire that long. We weren't in our sleeping bags yet because we hadn't dared switch on a light or make a sound. We finally decided that there was no point waiting around, so we just crawled into our bags as silently as possible. I had worked out all the possibilities in my mind, and had accepted whatever fate would befall us. I had no fear of death in the hands of a bear any more. It was simply the natural order of life. I surprised myself with my detachment. Of course, I had so much to live for, and was prepared to fight for it, but if I were to die in the process, I had made my peace already. I should mention that at no point did the trip go bad or spiral out of control, despite the circumstances. It may have been very different on a higher dose.
I spent roughly the next two hours awake, contemplating our situation, amongst other things. I felt really grateful to my family and friends for being a part of my life. I resolved to express my feelings more strongly the next time I met any of them. I also thought about ways to improve some of my other inter-personal relationships.
At some point we heard some splashing in the river again, and the grunting had stopped.
T + 5:30
It had been a long and exhausting day, so I fell asleep.
T + 9:30
I awoke at the first light of dawn, happy to still be alive. Overall, it was a great experience: I had fun and also learnt a lot from it. I'm now eagerly awaiting my next psychedelic experience, probably a higher dose.
-----------------------------
If you made it this far, thanks for reading, and I hope it wasn't too long!
Tagged by bindingaffinity
substancecode_mushrooms
substancecode_tryptamines
explevel_firsttime
exptype_positive
roacode_oral
Date/time: 2011-11-25, 8:30pm
Location: Yosemite National Park
Experience: First time
Ever since the first time I smoked cannabis, which is about four years ago, I've been intrigued by psychedelic substances. I have had significant experience with cannabis, and a little bit of JWH-018, but had never taken any psychedelic before. I have spent a lot, probably way too much time on the bluelight forums and erowid reading about different psychedelics. I finally managed to acquire some dry Psilocybe Cubensis mushrooms (Texas strain), and held on to them for a month before I found a good opportunity to use them: camping on the banks of the Merced river in Yosemite National Park.
After a good day hike and dinner in the park, we made it back to camp by around 7pm. It was already pitch dark, and pretty cold, since it was a new moon night in November. I was with two close friends of mine, let's call them K and M. We hurriedly got a fire going and put on some layers of warm clothes. My friends weren't going to join me on the trip, so they opened up some beers, while I prepared my mushroom tea. K has had a few mushroom trips before, while M hasn't, but they were both supportive and I'm very comfortable with them being around. I decided to go with 1.4g for my first trip since I wanted to test the waters before diving into the deep end. I cut up the shrooms and steeped it in the boiling water for 10 minutes along with a bag of lemon tea. The tea tasted pretty good, dominated by the lemon flavor. I drank it over a span of ten minutes (at around 8:30pm), and then waited with excitement and little bit of trepidation for something to happen. The time markers below are approximate: I had a watch on me but I wasn't really taking notes during the trip.
T + 0:30
I felt more relaxed and weighed down than normal. My hands got a little numb at times. I was afraid of getting nauseous since I had a full stomach, but this never happened.
T + 0:45
I started to see the first signs of visual distortions. Things seemed to be shimmering and rippling around me. The fire was very interesting, and I enjoyed looking at the detailed patterns on the burning logs of wood. There was hardly any mental component to the trip so far, only visual.
T + 1:00
I got up to get my music player from the car, since I thought I might need it later. I felt a little clumsy and uncoordinated trying to do this. Everything around me looked a little different than normal, but I couldn't quite put a finger on it.
T + 1:30
By this point, M had already turned in for the night, and it was already "lights out" time at camp. All our camp neighbors were in bed too, which left just K and I outside talking to each other in hushed voices. I stared intently into the fire like never before. I noticed patterns in the burning wood like a smiley face (which made me smile) and a fire-breathing dragon with glowing eyes. The fire also made us warm and toasty, and there was no physical discomfort whatsoever.
T + 2:00
I found myself in a really deep conversation with K, about life, the universe, evolution, the errant ways of humankind and so on. Probably due to my full stomach, the trip had come on so gently that I hadn't even realized it. I was definitely in a different headspace now. I was still able to speak clearly, for the most part. Thoughts were lucid, clear, and very deep. There was no confusion or forgetfulness like I usually experience on cannabis. I was really enjoying it.
At some point, I got up to pee (yes, outdoors, on a bush). It came quite easily, unlike some reports that I'd read. Peeing outdoors in the wilderness felt really primal and animalistic. Although obvious, I had the "realization" that human beings are just another species of animal with fancy tools and technology. This was a recurring theme throughout my trip.
I had my headlamp on, and I looked around at the trees, river and everything around me. I felt like my vision was enhanced. My 3D perception seemed sharper than real life, if there could be such a thing! I looked up at the beautiful star-lit sky framed by the tall trees. I felt a very comforting vibe from the trees, and felt very calm and peaceful.
I went back and remarked to K that my trip essentially felt like "life++" - my feelings and emotions were enhanced, thoughts were clear and deep, and vision was better.
T + 2:30
Still deep in conversation, we heard some splashing sounds in the nearby river. We looked around with our headlamps but saw nothing.
T + 2:45
We heard a deep loud grunt from behind us, which was unmistakably that of a large animal. (Yosemite has a high population of bears, and it also happened to be the season when they try to pack in as many calories as they possibly can before their winter sleep.) K immediately sprang up and said, "In the tent, NOW!" I jumped in after her as fast I could. K was trembling with fright. From her account the next day, her blood had instantaneously run cold upon hearing the grunt. It was an instinctive fear, not one of rational thought, and it was a greater fear than anything she had ever felt before. Strangely, my psilocin-addled brain remained somewhat calm. Of course, I experienced fear too, but it was more rational than deep in my bones. In the commotion, M had woken up and started freaking out when he heard about why we were in the tent all of a sudden. We managed to shut him up and remained still and motionless, for fear of attracting the animal towards us.
T + 2:55
5 minutes had passed without a sound, so we decided to peep through the window of the tent and shine our headlamps around. This was obviously a bad idea because we heard a few more grunts as soon as we shone our lamps in one particular direction. We learnt our lesson, shut the window, turned off all lights, and stayed put for what felt like a really long time. We heard the grunts now and then, at least around twenty times in the next hour, from different directions and distances.
T + 3:30
We were freezing in the tent, being away from the fire that long. We weren't in our sleeping bags yet because we hadn't dared switch on a light or make a sound. We finally decided that there was no point waiting around, so we just crawled into our bags as silently as possible. I had worked out all the possibilities in my mind, and had accepted whatever fate would befall us. I had no fear of death in the hands of a bear any more. It was simply the natural order of life. I surprised myself with my detachment. Of course, I had so much to live for, and was prepared to fight for it, but if I were to die in the process, I had made my peace already. I should mention that at no point did the trip go bad or spiral out of control, despite the circumstances. It may have been very different on a higher dose.
I spent roughly the next two hours awake, contemplating our situation, amongst other things. I felt really grateful to my family and friends for being a part of my life. I resolved to express my feelings more strongly the next time I met any of them. I also thought about ways to improve some of my other inter-personal relationships.
At some point we heard some splashing in the river again, and the grunting had stopped.
T + 5:30
It had been a long and exhausting day, so I fell asleep.
T + 9:30
I awoke at the first light of dawn, happy to still be alive. Overall, it was a great experience: I had fun and also learnt a lot from it. I'm now eagerly awaiting my next psychedelic experience, probably a higher dose.
-----------------------------
If you made it this far, thanks for reading, and I hope it wasn't too long!
Tagged by bindingaffinity
substancecode_mushrooms
substancecode_tryptamines
explevel_firsttime
exptype_positive
roacode_oral
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