The Cave Report

When I was 17 years old (many years ago) I went on a journey that was easily the most memorable mushroom experience I have ever had (yet). I have no idea what kind they were, since I wasn't really into all the details, but I'd guess most likely they were cubensis (dried), and the dosage was about 2 grams.

I lived in a northern mountainous, forest type place; very beautiful indeed. Not far from my home, maybe a 15 minute hike, was the base of a mountain that is formed from extremely large rocks (from the size of a house down to the size of a car) all stacked on top of one another. If you hike up into the passages in between those rocks, there are numerous caves and very cool (in both ways) places you can go. And, that is exactly what I did.

The supplies I brought along with me included:

2 grams (approx.) psilocybin mushrooms. One 12-string acoustic guitar (Yamaha). 3 very juicy and delicious pears. One candle, one lighter. One canteen filled with water. One small flashlight.

I made the hike up the trail that leads to the base of the mountain, then stopped to catch my breath and have a drink of water. Then I proceeded to make my way into the "secret passage" of my choosing, to a fairly large cave I had visited before. It was nice and dark, and with a very high "ceiling", with barely a few little cracks at the very top, that allowed a few shafts of sunlight to shoot through, at the right time of day. This cave-place was also wonderfully nice and cool, probably about 65 - 70 degrees (F). I forgot to say that this experience was in the middle of the summer, so the outside temp was probably 85 (F) or so, not bad certainly, but would have seeemed pretty hot if you were in that while you were *tripping*.

So, about halfway back into the cave, I stopped again to catch my breath - this was a pretty rigorous hike, even for a 17 year old healthy male...rugged rocky steps up the path, lugging the pack and guitar in its case, so as to avoid scratching it up on rocks.

At this rest break, I decided, "I'll go ahead and eat 'em now." The only reason I didn't do it sooner was the (well-founded) fear of starting to buzz like crazy and not having made it to my peaceful, private, and safe destination. This was responsible, being that hiking in such an area should NEVER be attempted by those under the influence...let's just say, one wrong step and you could bash your skull on the rocks below and around you!

So, I just ate them, getting them moistened, and then kind of squished them into my lower lip, sort of like people do with chewing tobacco. Of course, this was a little disgusting, but I wanted to get all the *juice* out of them, and so I probably had them in for a good 15 or 20 minutes of chewing, and then went ahead and washed them down with some water.

I then proceeded into MY cave, and I was very happy to be in such a wonderfully cool, quiet, and dark place on a bright sunny warm day. I put my supplies down, and arranged them and myself to prepare for what was to come. Basically, I just sat myself on the flattest rock surface I could find - wasn't too bad, but after awhile I took my shirt off and used it as a cushion! So, I lit up the candle, took out my guitar, closed my eyes, and began playing while I waited for what soon came.

I was just kind of freeform playing, doing chord progressions and enjoying it, when I started to notice the flickering candlelight looking VERY VIVID - intense neon orange, jumping, dancing. I had the presence of mind to think, "Oh man, it's starting now..." The next thing I realized was that I was playing a Led Zeppelin acoustic tune called "Bron-Yr-Aur", from their excellent double-album "Physical Graffiti."

As I caught myself for a moment and realized what I was playing (sub-consciously!), now it was the shadows and images forming on the cave walls behind the candle's flame. It was truly amazing, I'm not sure what all kinds of images I saw in those shadows, but there was no fear whatsoever. And, being that I was all alone, in a dark cave, where anything from tarantulas to rattlesnakes could have been (not to mention "inner demons"), I am still to this day amazed that I didn't freak out - on the contrary, it was the best trip ever!

I saw lots of intense beautiful colors and geometric patterns with my eyes closed, but in such a dark enclosed place with only that candlelight, it wasn't totally different than eyes wide open. But, it was cool to have the two different ways to compare the view...both were amazing. At peak, my mind was swimming so heavily that I was hearing beautiful melodies, but I couldn't be certain whether or not those were coming from my guitar, just inside my mind and imagination, or maybe my mind in hyper creative mode adding harmonies to what was really being played in the *reality*.

Beyond this, I can't really give a point-by-point description, but I will say that over that next 5 - 6 hours I had the most euphoric feeling in my entire body, soul, and spirit. Every sound coming out of that 12-string guitar was the gift of music to humanity itself. Every drink of water was the coolest, purest in history. Every bite of those 3 pears were simply the sweetest, most delicious nektar of the gods ever tasted by a mere mortal, like me.

I sat there, "Indian-style" (legs crossed over) for the entire trip, smiling from ear to ear, and floating on a cloud. It was certainly intense, but not by the standards I see some of you speak of in these pages. I would have to guess it as a level 2 or 2 1/2 trip...extremely pleasant, but none of the "entities", dragons, demons, or even pseudo-angels that some speak of. This was just right for me, and what I would consider highly spiritual in nature. Wonderful and loving...not one negative or anxious moment throughout.

Now, here is the CLIMAX! I obviously had no concept of time, but I'm sure I had peaked and been tripping for at least 4 hours. I was beginning to get some of that lucid feeling that filters back in on your way back to normalcy, when I swore I heard something - like a voice, and not inside my head! I realized I was still playing the guitar, so I stopped to see what I was sensing. I heard laughter. Then I heard a young voice say, "Hey, how you doin, man?!!" It seemed friendly enough, but what the hell was this?

I somehow determined that the ONLY place this could be coming from was from UP. Sure enough, those little cracks at the top of the "ceiling" were the "floor" to some young kids who were hiking around up above me. They had heard the music and decided to look down into where the sound was emanating from, which was about 40 - 50 feet down for them, and up for me!! I later thought to myself that this probably freaked them out as much as it did me! So, I sort of snapped into *reality* briefly, long enough to respond by saying, "I'm fine...just playing my guitar." They said it sounded good, and then one kid told the other that they should go and quit bothering me, or something to that effect. I told them it was cool, have fun, and be careful up there on those rocks. They agreed that they would, and went on their way.

My heart was beating fast from being startled like that, but not like OH SHIT, just more like, "UHHM, THAT WAS WEIRD". I then proceeded to laugh and laugh and laugh...which is odd because normally the uncontrollable laughter happens during the peak or earlier in the trip, for me anyway. But I ended up thinking that was a pretty cool thing to happen as I was coming back to the world - a sort of unpredictable "welcome back" message for me to contemplate.

After that, I just played and sang a little more, and watched the candle burn down. When the time seemed right, I packed up my stuff, took a deep breath, and made my way out of my cave, as happy as I can ever remember being. Once I got outside of the cave passageway, back out into the sunlight and the trees, another minor wave of euphoria swept over me - just the sheer beauty of the base of that mountain, the long shadows of late afternoon, the sunlight through the trees, the waist-high ferns growing all around making the place look like some dinosaur movie - and let me tell you, those were the GREENEST ferns ever!!

I slowly walked along, taking in as much of this beauty as I could...and trust me, it just wasn't possible to appreciate it any more than I did that day. Before I knew it, I was safely home, and walked up the steps and my long and winding driveway. Took a half hour or so to love and play with my dog and cats, and then sauntered into my bedroom, where I gently set down my guitar, took my levis off and fell into bed...and dreamed amazing dreams and slept amazingly deep sleep for the next 10 or 12 hours.

As I've told you, it was one of the best, most joyous times I've ever had...mushrooms or not. I hope you enjoyed hearing about this, although I really have tried to caution anyone who may want to do anything similar to be VERY sure of your good happy mood beforehand, as well as making damn sure you can hike safely there and back...getting through it without injury is definitely the goal!