Shambhala 2010

My best friend and I had decided we wanted to try magic mushrooms for the first time while attending Shambhala music festival in 2010. In the early afternoon I had scored some organic, vegan mushroom cookies off one of our volunteer friends (we were also volunteering at the festival).

Upon eating the cookies we headed to “The Beach” which is a stage setup along the river at the festival.  We waded out halfway into the river where we danced and floated and just relaxed as we came up on mushrooms.  Suddenly, someone over a megaphone was directing everyone to leave the river immediately as it was “toxic.” I looked down and the river was green – like glow stick green. 

Being our first-time experiencing psilocybin, I remember thinking “Is this what its like!? Does everyone see the same thing when you do mushrooms!?”  

Turns out someone had dropped green dye into the river causing a neon colour that extended miles in both directions and we soon realized this was not a mushroom hallucination but the real deal.

After the dyed river chaos we found ourselves wandering through the infamous “Labyrinth” which is essentially just a maze of trippy art in the forest.  We wandered through glowing tunnels and fractals until we found ourselves at the base of this giant net.  Claire Bear instinctively started climbing up the net as I watched her.  At the top there was another giant net tied between the treetops that you could lie on. The best way to describe it would be a giant hammock in the treetops that could fit up to 20 people. Claire got comfy.

I decided to wander away from my dear friend and found myself exploring the woods on my own. I remember seeing colours and patterns I had never noticed in nature before. I took off my shoes so I could feel the earth beneath my toes.

– Momo