Have You Ever Walked in the Woods While High?

Have you ever walked in the woods while high?

This Tuesday was my first time. I was a day into my longest ever digital fast…48 hours with no phone, no computer, no screens. Nothing but reality.

I’m still not sure what to call them, even though I’ve been doing them for a while. Retreats to Reality? Screencations? Whatever they’re called, they’ve been great for my mental health. Being chronically online has so many bad effects…stress, anxiety, poor sleep. We didn’t evolve to live this way.

This 48-hour screencation was my longest yet, another interesting little life experiment. And the experiment was a success! It was great on the first day. And on the second day? Euphoric.

On the second day, that Tuesday, I took some THC-infused edibles. My housemate didn’t get it…”Isn’t this about minimalism? If it’s no phone, shouldn’t it be no drugs, too?” But taking a screencation isn’t about minimalism…it’s about maximalism. By avoiding screens, you don’t make your world smaller…you make it larger. The world of reality is so much more vivid, packed with so much more sensation.

And for me, THC adds to that. I don’t get high to escape reality…I get high to immerse myself deeper within it. It intensifies all my senses. I notice things I’d never noticed before: hear new sounds in songs, feel the wind’s kiss on my back, see sparkling diamonds in the morning dew.

You notice them when you’re high, and then when you come back down to the ground, you realize…they’re still there. They were always there, waiting to be seen. Especially those diamonds in the morning dew.

That Tuesday certainly wasn’t the first time I’d gotten high. But, it was the first time I’d walked in the woods while high. And it was a wonderful experience.

I had worries going into it. I might be metaphorically tripping, but would I be literally tripping, too? Stumbling over roots, scraping my shin on rocks? I didn’t just have to worry about myself, but other people. What if I was weird and paranoid to passersby?

Turns out my worries were unneeded, though. It was a slow and peaceful hike. I took much longer than I’d normally take for that route. Many times in the middle of the trail, I’d just stop, struck still with the beauty of the world around me. The late morning light, flitting through the trees. The sound of the leaves, rustled by the breeze. The ecstatic realization that I was just one tiny thread in this vast tapestry. It’s one thing to read about the oneness of nature, but every thing to actually feel it.

I didn’t have to worry about the paranoia, either. I crossed paths with this “Forest Camp” of kids and counselors, which is a wonderful thing to exist in the world. As I patiently waited for them to cross a bridge, I noticed this one nonverbal neurodivergent kid straggling at the end. He wasn’t really responding to the others, but I swear, when I encouraged him onwards, he looked at me and lit up. It was only 9:36 AM, and I already felt like I’d changed the world that morning.

So that’s my story: the first time I walked in the woods while high. It was just the thing my soul needed. I recommend it! Everyone’s experience with THC is different, and maybe it won’t be for you, but hey…if you like walking in the woods, or if you like getting high, then consider walking in the woods while high!