(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

This was my first real road trip. I was 16 at the time and was excited that for the first time I'd be on my own. I live in Glens Falls, NY, and was ready to take on the ten hour drive to Limestone. I (and four other friends, traveled up to Limestone on Thursday and caught moe. in Portland. We arrived at IT at 3 am, right before the huge traffic jam. I had never experienced anything like this and my mind was blown away from the size of it all so far, and the day hadn't even started yet. My friends and I decided to get the few hours of sleep that we could.
That morning, they let everyone in the parking lot go in first. We were in the back of the line so we had to wait three hours to get into the camping grounds. Once inside, we got everything together and set up camp on the wet ground. Those few days were really muggy and the grounds were muddy and soft. That Friday night was crazy. The atmosphere of the area was buzzing and it was just one huge party. Bands were playing and people were dancing and the party never stopped.
The next morning we got up and went to the grounds at 2:00 or 3:00, before anyone really showed up. We went right next to the stage on Page's side. During the wait, my friend Tim and I played war while people watched. It was just an amusing experience. At 5 or so, the band came on. I felt a rush of energy fly through my body, and for the first time I was experiencing what people have been talking about.
“AC/DC Bag” seemed to be the perfect opener. That first set, in my opinion, was a great way to start the weekend off. The highlights were “Ya Mar” -> “Runaway Jim” (with an amazing “Ya Mar” jam), “Reba”, and “Meatstick” just because of the crowd cheering for it.
The second set is where things went downhill. Before the set, my stomach was bothering me. I had sharp pains on occasion, but I didn't think anything of it. So the band came on and played a raging “Down With Disease” which went into “NICU” > “Brother”. I personally enjoyed “Brother” even though it was a little sloppy. Then “Lawn Boy”.
Oh, that “Lawn Boy”. Right at the end of the song, I basically fell onto my knees and passed out. My friends had no idea what was happening, I had no idea what was happening, no one knew. Tim grabbed me and led me through the crowd, which was a huge task on itself. I fell over bodies and heard some people say, "Watch out!" and others say, "Can I help?". At that instant, I had no idea what was occurring. I had done nothing, even when people persisted in saying that I must have done something. Basically, it was dehydration. Tim brought me back to the tent where I was able to listen to the third set. I completely missed “Bowie” and “Waves”. Even though I heard them, I didn't actually hear them.