7 ms·

I used them while hiking in Peru. It's better than caffeine, because it comes with a mild euphoria. Nothing crazy, just enough to have energy and not feel like

I used them while hiking in Peru. It's better than caffeine, because it comes with a mild euphoria. Nothing crazy, just enough to have energy and not feel like hiking at altitude is work. When I hike with coffee I just feel determined to finish. With Coca it just felt natural to keep walking.

lhh 2y ago
I likewise had it in tea several times hiking in Peru. I personally didn’t notice any effect whatsoever, might as well have been mint tea.
- jvanderbot 2y ago
  Perhaps it's the fact that I was chewing them? I don't know! I'd assume tea was more potent. But I definitely had a decent reserve and was imbibing all day.
  - throwup238 2y ago
    Wikipedia says that 59% to 90% of the alkaloid is absorbed when drunk as a tea [1]. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca
    - lhh 2y ago
      Interesting, I'd always assumed people snorted the powder because it's not absorbed if consumed orally, but apparently that's not true. Maybe just it's just for the absorption speed? So... if someone drank industrial quantities of coca tea in one go, it'd be a 2-12 hour cocaine high?
      - bluGill 2y ago
        snorting means it is absorbed into the bloodstream in your nose - that is very fast. Drinking means it goes through the stomach and then is released into the intestines to be absorbed (depending on what else you ate this could be slow or somewhat fast - but always much more drawn out than snorting).
yard2010 2y ago
Hiking in altitude is hands down the hardest thing I did in my life. On the first day I almost died of an altitude sickness. On the following days, climbing 5 meters up the mountain felt like climbing the whole mountain twice. After every 10 steps I had to stop for 30-60 seconds and catch my breath. I drank a lot of coca tea and couldn't feel anything different. Peru, especially cordillera negra/blanca is the most special place on earth I've ever been too. Everything is magical in a weird way. It's literally breathtaking. I can't really describe it. It feels mystical, even with no drugs involved.
- LandR 2y ago
  > Hiking in altitude is hands down the hardest thing I did in my life HOw much preparation did you do before hand ? I'm looking at a himalayan trip next year to around a 23k feet summit (over the course of 30 days or so). I'm taking a year to train for it, but I have no way to train for 'altitude', and as I understand it reaction to altitude doesn't correlate that much with overall fitness. You can apparently be super fit but still get altitude sick, which is concerning me.
  - Eumenes 2y ago
    If you can't train at altitude, I'd focus on distance/time in. Go on long runs, long hikes, long bike rides. Endurance. Elevation gain is good too. Try to at least mirror the conditions per mile in your training. Hill intervals are useful - walk up a big steep hill at a steady pace, and then walk back down; rinse/repeat. A solid cardiovascular base should prepare you just fine.
  - lazide 2y ago
    There are two factors. 1) cardio fitness (ability to do x amount of work) 2) altitude adaptation (ability to exist at altitude) It takes from several days to several months to adapt to altitude, depending on exactly what you mean by adapt. The first 24-72 are the highest risk for altitude sickness (which can be life threatening). Both factor into performance at altitude.
  - lhh 2y ago
GordonS 2y ago
I also had it in hiking Peru. I found it to be a mild stimulant, similar to caffeine but wihlthout any jitters. Didn't notice any euphoria at all, TBH. My wife and I drank coca tea during the whole stay in Peru, and the altitude didn't bother us at all, which I presume was because of the coca.

lhh 2y ago

I likewise had it in tea several times hiking in Peru. I personally didn’t notice any effect whatsoever, might as well have been mint tea.

jvanderbot 2y ago
Perhaps it's the fact that I was chewing them? I don't know! I'd assume tea was more potent. But I definitely had a decent reserve and was imbibing all day.
- throwup238 2y ago
  Wikipedia says that 59% to 90% of the alkaloid is absorbed when drunk as a tea [1]. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca
  - lhh 2y ago
    Interesting, I'd always assumed people snorted the powder because it's not absorbed if consumed orally, but apparently that's not true. Maybe just it's just for the absorption speed? So... if someone drank industrial quantities of coca tea in one go, it'd be a 2-12 hour cocaine high?
    - bluGill 2y ago
      snorting means it is absorbed into the bloodstream in your nose - that is very fast. Drinking means it goes through the stomach and then is released into the intestines to be absorbed (depending on what else you ate this could be slow or somewhat fast - but always much more drawn out than snorting).

yard2010 2y ago

Hiking in altitude is hands down the hardest thing I did in my life. On the first day I almost died of an altitude sickness. On the following days, climbing 5 meters up the mountain felt like climbing the whole mountain twice. After every 10 steps I had to stop for 30-60 seconds and catch my breath. I drank a lot of coca tea and couldn't feel anything different. Peru, especially cordillera negra/blanca is the most special place on earth I've ever been too. Everything is magical in a weird way. It's literally breathtaking. I can't really describe it. It feels mystical, even with no drugs involved.

LandR 2y ago
> Hiking in altitude is hands down the hardest thing I did in my life HOw much preparation did you do before hand ? I'm looking at a himalayan trip next year to around a 23k feet summit (over the course of 30 days or so). I'm taking a year to train for it, but I have no way to train for 'altitude', and as I understand it reaction to altitude doesn't correlate that much with overall fitness. You can apparently be super fit but still get altitude sick, which is concerning me.
- Eumenes 2y ago
  If you can't train at altitude, I'd focus on distance/time in. Go on long runs, long hikes, long bike rides. Endurance. Elevation gain is good too. Try to at least mirror the conditions per mile in your training. Hill intervals are useful - walk up a big steep hill at a steady pace, and then walk back down; rinse/repeat. A solid cardiovascular base should prepare you just fine.
- lazide 2y ago
  There are two factors. 1) cardio fitness (ability to do x amount of work) 2) altitude adaptation (ability to exist at altitude) It takes from several days to several months to adapt to altitude, depending on exactly what you mean by adapt. The first 24-72 are the highest risk for altitude sickness (which can be life threatening). Both factor into performance at altitude.
- lhh 2y ago

GordonS 2y ago

I also had it in hiking Peru. I found it to be a mild stimulant, similar to caffeine but wihlthout any jitters. Didn't notice any euphoria at all, TBH. My wife and I drank coca tea during the whole stay in Peru, and the altitude didn't bother us at all, which I presume was because of the coca.