Gone

I've never had a level four trip. Generally my trips are level 2, however there was one experience that has to be a 5.

This was about 3 years ago. I had been tripping fairly often and my tolerance was building, so that probably had something to do with my reasoning to take much more than ususal. Also, I was polishing off the bag...

My friend and I brewed tea for the first time. Despite what is prevelantly mentioned on this site, the heat of brewing the "Russian tea" didn't seem to effect potency at all. (Russian tea is basically tang, cinnimon, cloves and sugar)

My first indication that this was going to be good was that I didn't even finish the tea before by arm started to change shape ;) and as I walked around the house, every room had its own color scheme, and everything in it matched perfectly (my dog could move between rooms and would subtly change colors to match too!)

My friend and I decided to kick it at the local elementary school, which of course was deserted because it was summer and nighttime. Well, we didn't make it that far before we sat down on a retaining wall and just stared at the sidewalk. I personally get the best visuals off of textures like concrete, but this was extraordinary.

I began to see what can best be described as a rune in the sidewalk. It was circular, with writing around the perimeter in a language that I don't think exists. It looked kinda medieval, and kind of ancient japanese. The amazing thing though was that it was very well defined, and didn't change shape at all. As far as I was concerened, it was real, it was solid and motionless, and if I had a piece of paper I could have _traced_ it! It glowed red like lava and was there even if I looked away and looked back.

The next step was to get to the school. This part of the journey requires walking through a dark alley that peers into people's back yards. This was possibly the defining moment for my tripping history.

Every yard we passed was its own universe, and my friend saw it that way too. Each yard had (in reality) different plants and outdoor lighting, and this added to the effect. We took a long time in the alley, pausing at each yard and staring, comparing our versions of the universe therein like scientists comparing findings. It was as "trippy" and enjoyable an experience as I've ever had.

Oddly, we just kept getting higher. By the time we reached the school, we just had to sit down for a while in the middle of a large asphalt playground. I began tripping so hard that I couldn't see the sky anymore, only intense patterns. I tried to explain this to my friend and he thought I was kidding, and he decided to go explore the soccer field.

When I felt able, I tried to go find him. I quickly realized that I couldn't tell if I was on the grass, the asphalt, in a puddle, or anything. I reached down to feel the ground, and I couldn't decide what it was! "Yikes" I thought, but I'm pretty good at not freaking out, so I kept searching for my friend.

I'm not sure how long I wondered, but I eventually found him. He obviously wasn't as high as me, heck he knew what surface he was standing on ;) We went back to the asphalt and layed down again. I started tripping so hard I sort of lost my body, its hard to explain. I began thinking that maybe I never walked around, maybe I was always just laying here and I've overdosed or something. Maybe I'm in a coma and my friend is freaking but I can't hear him. Luckily I got control of myself (which was complicated because I coun't find me)

My friend decided he wanted to go somewhere else, and was dismayed by my lack of... I dont know, ability to act? He finally just told me to follow him. I put my hand on his shoulder but was essentially blind (its hard to explain, Its not that the patterns were that powerful, but more like the scenery wasn't real or didn't apply to me) I couldn't tell where my body was, and felt I was a point of light, or just a singular spot of consiousness moving along.

I had been "peeking" for about three hours, believe it or not. We ended up talking for a few hours as I came down. He was amazed that I wasn't making all that stuff up about not being to walk, etc. Turns out he had been mildly bad tripping from some unsatisfying introspection. That was a bummer, but pulled through just fine.

Thats my story. I must say it has tainted any future experiences because it would be so hard for anything to live up to it. Also, for about a year after that I saw mild patterns in the night sky... But hey, in LA its not like you're gonna see stars.