The Crevice Find

I left the patio behind and followed the gravel slope down into the dry wash. Between two sun-bleached boulders, a heavy steel cotter pin lay wedged in a narrow fissure of hardpan. I knelt on the sun-warmed shale to check the fit before moving it. The metal was pitted with desert varnish, but structurally sound. Hooking the curved edge of my axe under the loop, I applied steady upward pressure. With a sharp scraping release, the pin slipped free onto the gravel. I cleared the packed grit from its split ends and weighed it in my grip. A solid piece of steel for the road ahead.