Several years ago I took a trip to Mt. Washington with my church youth group. The trip proved to be a beautiful one -- hiking up through the truly unique ecosystem was breathtaking. At the peak visitor's center, I decided a warm bowl of clam chowder would really hit the spot.
I noticed the first signs of trouble five minutes before the cog-rail was to descend down the fierce slope. To my immediate horror, all stalls were occupied, with two more waiting in the wings. I gave my bowels a pep-talk, telling them that we would just have to tough it out and make it down the mountain.
The train was built for total diarrheal disaster. It takes approximately fifteen minutes to go all the way down to base camp, bouncing all the way. Each inch of the voyage sent bolts of pain through my tense innards. I held on for dear life and went into ultra-clench mode; and after several minutes of agony, the excruciating pain more or less subsided. All seemed on schedule for a safe evacuation at base camp.
Suddenly the tram stopped, and I sensed fecal doom. The track that the train moves down is shared by a car moving in the opposite direction. We began the painstakingly slow process of moving to a juxtaposed waiting track while the ascending car passed us by. I could only hope for mercy at this point. Release seemed imminent.
I thought time had been standing still, but it was actually at the 15-minute mark of the trip when the first leak seeped out. I sought to assure myself that if I could only release just enough pressure, I could minimize the damage and retain my grip on the situation.
Nope. The thick, grainy liquid poured from crack. All attempts to plug the dam were useless. I was completely empty, and we were only 2/3 of the way down.
The last ten minutes of the voyage were spent sitting in my own feces. I wrapped my Gore-tex jacket around my waist and hoped that no one would notice.
Finally, the train arrived at the station and the passengers exited. I thought I might actually pull this off until my friend Scott noted, "It smells like butt on here." I joked about the possibility that someone ripped massive ass on the way down, but I had never felt such embarrassment in my life.
I decided to make a mad dash across a field to the base station. I knew that my peers would interpret this action as a clear sign of trouble, but it's what I had to do. I scurried through the complex and proceeded to the largest stall. A damage report: ruined boxers and shorts.
Evidently, my ass hadn't thought its plan through, because I had no change of clothes. I panicked and desperately tried rinsing my shorts in the sink, but that didn't help. All hope seemed to be lost... complete embarrassment would rain down on me.
But I was out with my church group... so someone was looking out for me. An angel appeared in the guise of my group chaperone, bearing manna from Heaven in the form of a pair of Mt. Washington Cog-Rail sweat pants. He kept my secret, and the rest of the group was only slightly suspicious of my prolonged disappearance and my new fashion sense.
I still have the sweat pants.
-- John K