U.S. NEWS
Mushroom-tripping hikers mistakenly report a companion's death, officials say

An Adirondacks forest ranger responded, realized the two were mentally altered and took them to a hospital. The supposedly dead person called and later met his friends at their campsite.


———A view from Cascade Mountain's summit toward the Adirondacks in New York state.Karlsson Photo / Shutterstock

May 28, 2025, 8:56 PM EDT / Source: The Associated Press
By The Associated Press

NORTH ELBA, N.Y. — Two hikers in New York’s Adirondack Mountains called 911 to report a third member of their party had died, but it turned out they had taken hallucinogenic mushrooms and were mistaken, officials said Wednesday.

A state forest ranger responded to a call Saturday about a hiker who had reportedly died on Cascade Mountain, a popular summit in the Adirondack High Peaks, the Department of Environmental Conservation said in a news release.

The two hikers who called 911 also told a steward on the mountain’s summit that they were lost. The steward “determined the hikers were in an altered mental state,” according to the agency. … The supposedly dead person called and was not injured.

The ranger escorted the two hikers down to an ambulance, which took them to a hospital, and brought the third to the group’s campsite, where they all later met up, officials said.