This experience happened over the summer of 2017 at Bonnaroo, a big music festival in June down in Tennessee. The E8 lattice thread made me want to post this experience. So here goes.....

Packing my day gear for the trek into the main venue from our campsite, I’m excited for the coming day. Gonna drop some tabs, have a nice day trip, check out some great music and get a good spot for the pinnacle of the day, The Red Hot Chili Peppers show. We (my wife and two buddies) were planning on posting up a “camp” inside the venue, with a blanket, a couple inflatable couches, some snacks. My wife and I were gonna head out earlier than our buddies, and set up “camp”. So we were loaded up. Backpacks stuffed and arms full. Pop our tabs, and off we go.

To the music!!

Our walk is about a 20 minute haul from our campsite to the entrance. No effects yet. Good, because I didn’t wanna start bugging out going through security. We get to the long line and start slapping high fives with fellow roo’ers. 10 minutes later were through the line and at the bag search. My wife goes up first, and they flag her for the folding chair she had slung over her shoulder. Well shit, we can’t just leave it, we just bought it before the festival. So we decide that I’ll step off to the side and we would pile all the gear with me while she runs the chair back to camp. As of now the effects are starting to come on.

So she runs back to camp and returns in about 30 minutes, and I am relieved because I’m definitely tripping now. I just wanna get in the venue and start listening to some music. So we hit security again. This time, she gets hit for having her poi, light up balls on the end of strings. Well shit again! Now, as the acid is grabbing hold, this is starting to seem like a life altering decision. Do we go back to camp together, with all the gear, and exhaust ourselves? Or do we split up, with the chance to never see each other again? The situation was dire!

We make the decision. I am supposed to go set up the camp inside, while she runs her balls back to camp. I take our shared phone, banking that our buddies will still be at home base when she gets there to get ahold of me once they’re in. In my acid brain, it seemed like a shoddy plan at best, but it was the plan.

Now the 5 hits I had taken were in full effect as I walked into the venue, loaded to the hilt with gear. I go about 50 feet in, and drop the gear and sit down in the hot, hot sun. I point myself toward the entrance so I can watch for my wife when, if ever, she made it back.

God damn it’s hot... I’m so thirsty...

I fill up one of the inflatable couch things, and pile the gear up next to it, and I lay back looking at the sky. All I can think about is how thirsty I am. You can’t bring water in with you, but they have wells all over the property that you use to fill water bottles or camel packs. I saw one of the wells about 150 yards away.

So far...but I’m so thirsty...

My mind goes to tales of vision quests in the desert. Endure it. Fight through it. So I just laid back and closed my eyes. I was so blasted by the acid that I thought I couldn’t leave this spot or I would miss my wife or my gear would get ransacked. And it seemed impossible to carry everything all the way to the fountain. So there I sat, withering in the sun.

I open my eyes. I’m blown away! The sky is lit up with these trails crisscrossing all over. They sorta looked like they were made of a sorta star dust or something. A glittery smoke I guess. And through these trails would be little bursts of light that would travel down the trails. To me, it was identical to the visuals of how the neural pathways transport electrical signals through the brain that you might see on a science show. I’m just staring in awe. Am I seeing the “thoughts” of the planet? Did I tune into the electromagnetic waves that course the earth? It was so vivid. The sky was pulsing with energy.

After I don’t know how long, I remembered that I was waiting for my wife, and I was really, REALLY thirsty. I decide, screw it, if I loose my gear, oh well, but I need water. I walk over to this quite drunk woman, and tell her my dilemma. I ask if she will watch my stuff while I run to fountain. She says yes and I go to hydrate, half expecting my stuff to be gone when I get back. I return to the woman still standing with my stuff, feeling much better. Now worried I missed my wife while I was running for a drink I start scanning the crowd. Not but a couple minutes and she comes up behind me with our two buddies. We hug each other like we were reunited after a sailors return from sea.

All was finally good. We go to some music. I bust some dance moves like I never have.

What a night 🤙

Wow. I do love tripping in certain public settings sometimes (parks, museums, etc). But baking in the hot sun at a festival with thousands of other people, each on their own unique cocktail of booze and drugs, does not sound like the place I'd like to drop 5 hits of acid. But each to their own. Thanks for sharing!

See I am the opposite as you when it comes to public tripping. I would be super uncomfortable tripping in a park or museum surrounded by sober people. I like going to an enclosed place with loud music surrounded by other tripping people. It’s sorta like getting flung into wonderland with crazy and kooky characters everywhere.

Nice ! Such a cool story ^_^ Good dance moves, huh? I'd figure, a live RHCP show sure helps with that.

Maybe one day we can make a thread and all start sharing some laid back vision stories.

Haha I'm with Jupitor on this one. I would not mind being in my hyperspatial alien form around a couple sober families, but crowded and sort of restrained and with so many different vibes around me I've always liked order over chaos. My bedroom is immaculate.

That water restriction is tough stuff. What a leap of faith to leave your campsite with that person, she sounds nice.

The way LSD bends time really adds to some drama, doesn't it? I've never tripped around other people, much less in a crowded area. But being outdoors and around music with good people sounds like a great experience Hope you brought sunscreen!

In reality, my “campsite” was just a bunch of blankets and chairs and random goofy stuff, and the valuables coulda traveled with me the in my backpack, but like I said, with my acid brain, everything seemed much more paramount. Such an average experience seemed like a hero’s adventure, which is one thing I like about acid. I took some yesterday morning for a day trip, and cooking breakfast was a blast!

And yes, festival tripping is a great time. You meet some great people in strange ways because everyone’s brains are all tuned into different frequencies. We met a group of acid fairies there one year. My wife and I were sitting on the ground rolling on mdma, and this group of people in tutus came and danced around us in a circle, then sat with us and gave us crystals and light up toys. It was amazing.