I went for a hike Saturday and brought 2 grams of cambodians with me. I was by myself, which caused me a bit of trepidation at first because I knew there are mountain lions in these hills. However, once I peaked, all my fears vanished. I felt completely at peace, communing with nature. I could understand birds calls, talked to lizards, etc.
I went off the beaten path to go exploring. I came across what looked to be some kind of animal den, complete with tracks nearby. Again, the thought of mountain lions came to mind, but I was in such a high spiritual place at this point that I was convinced that if I did come across a cougar, I would not be afraid. In fact, I was sure I'd be able to just calmly sit down and communicate with it. Well, you know how it is when you're in "that place".
I stayed up there for the rest of the afternoon, and watched the sun set. It was absolutely glorious. Then I slowly started to head back to my car, which was about a twenty minute hike downhill.
I felt as if I was coming down at this point. It was getting darker, and I noticed the birds around me started sounding very different, almost alarming. I stopped when I heard a rustle in some bushes up ahead. It sounded like a big animal moving through the brush. A flock of birds suddenly took flight out of a nearby bush, as if something startled them. I stood completely still, and continued to hear this rustling noise. And then I remembered reading that mountain lions tend to go on the prowl just after the sun sets.
All the spiritual feelings I was having earlier vanished, and I felt in danger. I was by myself, and there was absolutely no way for me to get back to my car without walking past the bushes where these noises where coming from. The idea of calmly sitting down and communicating with a mountain lion now seemed completely ridiculous. I had wandered into their territory during feeding time.
I ended up cutting across some bushes on the opposite side of the trail, and managed to make it back to my car, sensing that something was following me the entire time. Since I was alone, I'll never know whether there really was something dangerous lurking in those bushes or not. I didn't feel like I was hallucinating at the time at all. However, looking back I realize that the trail going back to the parking lot looked completely different than when I had ascended the trail earlier in the day. In reality, the trail is wide, flat, and barren. But on the way back, it seemed narrow, bumpy, and overgrown with vegetation. So I suppose it's quite likely that I was hallucinating.
However, I don't think I'll repeat the mistake of staying out in the wilderness past sunset by myself.
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The more I think about it, the more convinced I am the whole incident was a hallucination. I remember when I got home, I put on some Norah Jones, and her voice sounded extremely distorted, like she was breathing helium. This only lasted for a few seconds, but if I was having audio hallucinations at home, it's certainly possible to have hallucinated the sounds of a mountain lion moving through the bushes. And since I went into the trip thinking about mountain lions, it only makes sense that this anxiety would become manifest, especially after dark.
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