SHANDAKEN, N.Y. (1010 WINS) -- Four hikers were rescued by state forest rangers after they got lost in the Catskill Mountains while tripping on psychedelic mushrooms, officials said this week.
The group was hiking in the Slide Mountain Wilderness of Ulster County on Aug. 29 when they lost their way—and also a sling bag with their car keys, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Dispatched received a 911 text via satellite that evening from the group, who relayed they’d “consumed mushrooms and one of them was experiencing a debilitating high.”
Forest rangers descended into the wilderness and located the group about two hours later near the Giant Ledge. They led them to the trailhead with the help of firefighters and then drove them to their rental lodging.
The following day, a ranger was able to locate the lost bag and cars keys “under a log in tall ferns,” officials said.
In a statement praising the rangers’ actions, the Police Benevolent Association of New York noted that they set out to find the hikers as dusk set over a rugged mountain area that features “several sheer cliffs and drops.”
“This level of dedication, at the start of a busy Labor Day weekend, is representative of the commitment shared by our Forest Ranger members,” PBA of NY President James McCartney said in the statement.