Sometimes life is predictable. Sometimes it’s not. Sure, we’d all like to think that we’re going to be prepared for anything life might throw at us but, understandably, eventually we’re going to be caught off guard.
Toilet paper is one of the most practical inventions of the 20th century. It’s efficient, cheap and plentiful… usually.
Twice that I can remember, said invention was absent in my time of need. Not even a freaking square. What’s a guy to do? When caught unprepared, improvise.
Not without reason, both instances of sans buttwipe occurred on the same trip. It was Outward Bound’s Ski Mountaineering course, 11 days in March at elevation in the Rockies.
They stressed amoung other things on this trip the importance of leaving nature as you found it and personal toughness. In an effort to achieve both these objectives and to save backpack space, toilet paper was a no no. What, pray tell, did they offer as an alternative?
Snow balls.
They wanted me to scoop out a crapper in a snow drift, deposit my stuff and then shock my sphincter silly by rubbing it with nature’s snowcone. Ummmm, okay. So there’s alternative medium number one.
The experience produced an unexpected side effect though. I became resolute in my efforts not to soon repeat the experience. Remember, however, that I said 11 day trip. No man, myself included, has a sphincter tenacious enough to stem the tide for the remainder of the journey 2 days into an 11 day odyssey.
Must have been about day 7 or so. I’ve pretty much got a batch that’s trying to kick the door down. We’re above the treeline one morning and have just exited our igloo and are about to set off for the summit and then start our descent. Everyone’s stuff is out of the igloo and I see my chance because there before me is this beautiful, heaven sent, paper toopographic map. Yes, the one that’s needed to get us off the damn mountain.
I pick it up, study with as much concentration as I could muster our route across hill and dale and then take it into the igloo with me and shit all over it.
It was like the greatest poop of my life. I had farts leapfrogging over each other trying to get out. I think the heat from my steamer alone caused the inside of the igloo to fog up, thus adding to the dreamlike quality of said durf. Then I exited and drew in a great breath of fresh, mountain air.
So that’s it for me as far as being inventive with TP implements… snowballs and a topo sheet.
Surely, someone’s got me beat?