We’re fans of road trips. It probably harkens back to the early days of our relationship when we were still in high school. We spent a lot of time driving around on the back roads near my parents’ house listening to music and talking. In recent years, I’ve grown accustomed to the four-hour drive down to my family’s lake house in middle-of-nowhere Virginia. A nine-hour drive to Tennessee? Fun times! One bonus of driving is that it’s easier to take substances on vacation, which is how we managed to go hiking with Molly (AKA MDMA) in the Smoky Mountains.
At some point, I need to write more about MDMA. I have two ideas in mind: a Sex and… post and one about how MDMA is like a marriage counselor.
Anyway, back to hiking with Molly. For context: most of our rolls have been at home, just the two of us. Several have been with friends (some vanilla friends, some lifestyle friends). A couple years back we took MDMA while on Bourbon Street.
We want to get more experience with MDMA out in public and across different settings. Trying it while hiking was on our list. This vacation was perfect for that!
The Trail
The hike of choice was the Rainbow Falls trail. The main considerations that went into picking this location were as follows:
- It was a strenuous hike but on a well-traveled, well-tended path.
- Big elevation change, but it was uphill from the start and thus downhill on the way back.
- The round-trip distance was in the realm of what we were looking for: four to six miles was the goal range, and this was 5.4.
- It had something pretty to look at. We did a hike once that was a narrow trail through underbrush that went up the side of a hill and looped back down. No creek, no rocky outcropping, no overlook. Very disappointing.
Thus selected, we made our preparations.
The Preparations
During the vacation planning, Erin read that the Smoky Mountains trails are very popular and the parking areas at the trailheads fill up quickly. It wasn’t prime season yet and we were hiking on a Monday, but we decided we needed to get up early to ensure we could park and hike the trail we wanted. Rainbow Falls is one of the more popular trails.
And not just for our 5.4-mile loop. The trail continues past the falls up to the summit of Mt. LeConte. That ends up being a 13-mile hike, I think, and a much steeper elevation change. Not for us! At least not this time.
The plan was to have a quick breakfast before we headed out and then have a picnic lunch at the falls. Or maybe some other little clearing off the path if we got hungry before we got to the falls. Or stopping on our way back if we were hungry when we got to the falls. See? We can be impulsive!
We packed trail mix, sandwiches, fruit, orange juice, prosecco, water, our new Arizer Air 2 vaporizer, and an energizing, sativa-dominant hybrid: Electric Kool Aid. I even had a thick blanket in my pack to lay out upon the ground.
And MDMA, Obviously
If you are going to go hiking with Molly, you need to bring Molly with you! For this experiment, I packed eight capsules with 50–60 mg of MDMA erring on the side of 50 mg because we wanted a light dose (we refer to it as a wedding dose) not a full on roll.
A typical light dose would be about 90–110 mg for Erin and 110–130 mg for me. By comparison, when we roll at home and want to really feel in the experience, Erin might start around 140–160 mg, and I would go for 160–180 mg. Increase those ranges by 40 mg and you have our threshold for a heavy experience. Fun on occasion, but heavy rolls don’t give us the loving, soul-connecting experience we typically seek.
I guess I should write about that at some point, too….
This batch of MDMA is potent. I’m not sure why. None of my drug test kits indicated any additives or adulterants. After a few trial runs, we’ve landed on this batch being roughly equivalent to 20% stronger than normal.
Our plan was to take two pills when we parked at the trailhead (roughly 100 mg each), and then we’d have two booster caps to take as we liked during the hike.
Which is exactly what we did. We ate breakfast (just some cereal) before leaving our place, drove about 30 minutes to the trailhead (Lot A was already packed, but the overflow parking had plenty of spaces), took two caps, and started walking.
Usually we wouldn’t take MDMA so soon after eating as that slows down the uptake. But it was a light meal, and we didn’t need a speedy uptake. If the experience came on slowly, that was fine. We had plenty of time.
Hiking With Molly: The Experience
I’m not going to give a play by play. Overall, the experience was lovely. Alas that I didn’t have my journal with me nor did I take notes on my phone. (This is a For Science! fail.)
On the Way Up
I started to feel the lift at around 45 minutes, which is typical. MDMA is an amphetamine, so it gives energy as well as a euphoric mood lift. I found it very pleasant.
However, the stim feeling came on a little strong for Erin. Combine that with the strenuous uphill hike, and she got light-headed during the come-up. We sat down on a large boulder a little off the path for about 20 or 30 minutes until the stim feeling calmed a bit.
An Educational Aside!
FYI for those who haven’t experienced MDMA: It takes about 20 to 60 minutes before you reach the full experience. This is known as the come-up. Interestingly (I think, anyway), despite needing more MDMA to reach the same peak, I come up on MDMA faster than Erin does. We typically stagger our initial doses by 10 to 15 minutes so it hits at the same time. Or else I start getting all gropey and cuddly before she’s ready for it.
It is not uncommon for the stim feeling to be the most prominent sensation during the come-up. It’s a jittery, anxious feeling like you’ve had too much coffee. Like way too much coffee. I tend to enjoy that sensation. Other people find it uncomfortable.
Typically the jittery feeling dissipates when the euphoria settles in.
The larger the MDMA dose, the more powerful that stim feeling can be. For this reason, I advise starting with a light-to-moderate dose. If your current level isn’t as deep as you want after the come-up—about 60 to 90 minutes after the initial dose—then take more. (One reason I like MDMA crystals is that they can be measured; pressed pills are harder to accurately portion.) Being in the euphoric state might help avoid any unpleasantness (anxiety, overheating, feeling overwhelmed, overstimulated, and claustrophobic) caused by the come-up.
On a heavy dose, the nervous, anxious feeling can come and go throughout the roll. I get hit with occasional spikes of panic. On a light dose, the stimmed feeling isn’t as pronounced, but there might not be enough of a euphoria to completely overtake it.
I think that’s what happened to Erin here. A little more or a little less would have been better.
At the Falls
I think it took us about 3 hours to get to the falls. We found an out-of-the-way spot to lay out the blanket for our picnic. The Molly experience was starting to fade at this point, so we both redosed with two caps each. That’s about another 100 mg by weight.
We drank mimosas, ate some trail mix, and lounged on our blanket for 30, maybe 45 minutes. The MDMA pleasantness swelled within us again as we laid there looking at the falls and staring up into the canopy of leaves.
When we first settled in, there were a bunch of hikers in the area. Families clamoring about to get photos. Children playing up on the rocks near the falls. They trickled back down the trail while we hung out. After a while it was just the two of us and maybe another older couple still lingering at the base of the falls.
It was quiet. Peaceful. Lovely.
On the Way Down
It had been a cloudy, damp day on the walk up. On the walk down, it was raining. In fact, it was the beginning drizzle that prompted us to pack up and start our descent. We weren’t even half a mile down before it started to rain in earnest.
The second dose was in full force at that point, but Erin never got lightheaded. Perhaps that was because we were stationary while the second dose kicked in. Or maybe it was because we were already in the experience and the booster just kicked it back up a few notches. As noted in the educational aside, once you’re in the experience, taking more doesn’t have that same feel as the initial come-up. It’s just a deepening of the experience.
Erin noted that despite the rain, it was still a very pleasant hike back down. Which was likely due to the MDMA. Hiking while wet can be miserable even in good conditions. Despite being soaked, we had a lovely time. We credit that to hiking with Molly.
The Aftermath
We timed things well because I was fully out of the experience by the time we were back at the car. We drove back to our place, soaked in the big soaking tub, smoked up a bit (note that I never mentioned smoking on the hike; we’re the worst potheads ever), and just relaxed after our pleasantly strenuous day.
Erin passed the fuck out super early (6:30 or so?). I read for a few hours and then crashed (maybe about 9:00, which is early for me).
Will We Go Hiking With Molly Again?
Absolutely!
MDMA pairs well with being outside in nature. It’s an opening and energizing experience, which lends itself to being active. At a light dose, it’s easy to walk or hike (and probably even ride a bike on a paved trail). We were not so altered that we couldn’t navigate narrow bridges, stepping stones across the creek, or being around other hikers, of which there were many.
Considerations When Hiking With Molly
Pleasant as it was, we learned some things from this experience (For Science!). If any of you wanted to try hiking with Molly yourself, here are some things to keep in mind.
Consideration 1: Start Easy
For the most pleasant experience, don’t be overly ambitious.
For our next attempt, we would aim for a less strenuous hike. Our theory is that Erin got lightheaded due to the exertion of hiking the incline combined with a dose that was just slightly heavier than need be. Change either of those variables, and she’d have been golden.
My dose was spot on for me, but as you can see from my examples above, I typically take 20 mg more than Erin to get the same level. In this case, I packed them all similarly because I didn’t want to have to label caps as hers or mine.
Her overall experience was enjoyable. But it wasn’t optimal.
Consideration 2: Time It Right
We nailed this, but it is something everyone needs to keep in mind. If you are driving to a trailhead, you need to drive back home after. You don’t want to do that under the influence. Make sure you plan a long enough hike that you are able to safely drive when it’s over or that you are hiking somewhere that offers a place to comfortably sit and chill until you can drive.
Consideration 3: Fuel Up
Mistakes were made, team. Mistakes were made.
We had a light breakfast of cereal. I stand by this choice because eating a heavy meal would have delayed the uptake (which I’ll discuss more in my next post).
MDMA is an appetite suppressant. Not only will you not get hungry or otherwise even think of eating something, but even if food is offered, it won’t be appealing.
After hiking 2.7 miles to the falls, we had mimosas and a small pack of trail mix each. We ate nothing on the way down. We didn’t even eat dinner until hours after returning to the rental, and that was just a salad. We were critically underfed that day, which is probably part of why Erin crashed so hard so early.
We stayed well hydrated at least. We should have packed more juice, some sports drinks, and something with protein in it. A protein shake would have tasted particularly awful on MDMA, but it would have been smart to have it.
Consideration 4: Free Your Schedule
No matter what, you will probably crash hard after the experience. Make sure you don’t have anything important to do with the rest of your day.
And that is that! If you’ve ever been hiking with Molly, we’d love to hear about your experience. If you have any additional considerations, please leave them in the comments.
My next post will cover our second experiment of this vacation: We took 2C-B at the Biltmore. For Science!