The Daily Populous Tuesday September 9th, 2025 night edition
Authored by theguardian.com and submitted by NewSlinger

Four hikers who had consumed psychedelic mushrooms – including one experiencing a “debilitating high” – had to be rescued from New York’s Catskill Mountains after they got lost there, according to state authorities.

In a news release, forest rangers from the the New York state department of environmental conservation (DEC) said that they were alerted to the situation at about 5pm on 29 August after the receipt of a satellite text.

The message came from a hiker who reported that a group of four hikers were lost near Giant Ledge in the Slide Mountain Wilderness – an interconnected trail hike with elevations ranging from 1,100 to 2,600ft and several sheer cliffs and drops.

“The original caller admitted the group had consumed mushrooms and one of them was experiencing a debilitating high,” the DEC said.

Three forest rangers responded and located the group at approximately 6.45pm. They helped the group to the trailhead, where the hikers were evaluated by a Shandaken ambulance crew.

Complicating matters for the group of hikers was the fact that they had also lost their car keys, the news release said.

“Rangers provided a courtesy ride to the subjects’ rental lodging,” authorities said. They added that ranger Russell Martin “hiked back up” the following day and “found a sling bag with the keys under a log in tall ferns”.

Martin, who participated in the rescue, told the New York Times: “I’m not an expert in mushrooms, but these gentlemen definitely rode highs and lows.”

The DEC did not release the names of the hikers, but Martin said that all four were men in their 20s.

The Police Benevolent Association of New York State, a law enforcement union, commended the rangers’ efforts in a statement.

“This level of dedication, at the start of a busy Labor Day weekend, is representative of the commitment shared by our forest ranger members,” the union said. “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.”

The rescue in the Catskills called to mind a similar case from May, in which two hikers who had reportedly ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms called authorities to report that a third member of their group had died.

But, when the rangers arrived, they found the third individual alive and uninjured. It was determined that the two hikers were in an “altered mental state”, a news release said.

The two hikers who had “ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms” were escorted to a waiting ambulance as well as a New York state police cruiser, and the third was taken back to the group’s campsite.

InAllThingsBalance on September 8th, 2025 at 15:31 UTC »

> “Rangers provided a courtesy ride to the subjects’ rental lodging,” authorities said. They added that ranger Russell Martin “hiked back up” the following day and “found a sling bag with the keys under a log in tall ferns”.

Rangers going above and beyond. It is nice to hear.

CougarForLife on September 8th, 2025 at 15:27 UTC »

it pays to read the article bc you get amazing tidbits like this at the end:

> The rescue in the Catskills called to mind a similar case from May, in which two hikers who had reportedly ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms called authorities to report that a third member of their group had died.

> But, when the rangers arrived, they found the third individual alive and uninjured. It was determined that the two hikers were in an “altered mental state”, a news release said.

RenegadeFade on September 8th, 2025 at 15:17 UTC »

TLDR:

They just got lost, and needed a ride back to their rental.

One of them was really, really high.