The Slick Chute

I carried my slate map and yellow pencil to the dry pour-off at the end of the cleft. The drop was three blocks high. A slick, tilted rock chute angled straight toward the sandy basin below. It looked like an express slide. First, I set my yellow pencil at the top lip to test the slope. Zip. It shot straight down and landed flat in the soft sand. A completely smooth run. I sat on the polished edge, tucked my legs straight out, and pushed off with both hands. Whoosh. My flat back slid evenly down the sandstone chute, picking up speed, before I thumped softly into the warm drift. I hopped right up, brushed the dust from my square knees, and picked up my pencil. That cut ten minutes of scrambling down to three seconds.