Paul Austin and Matt Gillespie are trying to retrace their steps along a path shrouded by redwood trees.

All things considered, the conditions for being lost in the forest are pretty ideal: there’s still about an hour of daylight left, and the weather is unusually pleasant for December in Oakland, California.

Plus, the two 29-year-olds are in noticeably good spirits. Austin, a psychedelics coach, feels confident his guidance helped his client, Gillespie, make some real progress today. And Gillespie, brushing his palm across a tree as he takes another muddy step forward, seems all but concerned about the unplanned detour.

“How often do you let yourself get lost?” he asks. It’s tough to tell if Gillespie is really that enchanted by the redwoods around him – or if he’s still feeling the dose of psychedelic drugs he took a few hours back.

‘That really helped me understand my potential’

Psychedelics have seen a surge in popularity within the last decade. These mind-altering substances, which include psilocybin (or ‘magic mushrooms’) and LSD, are best known for their hallucinogenic effects. Most notably, they’re associated with 1960s counterculture.