It's almost every time I'm running a dog team that I think about how difficult it is to describe to others the beauty of what we see on the trail. And it's made especially difficult by the trouble taking photographs -- first, it sure seems like the most beautiful sights I see are when we're descending a steep, treacherous hill and there's just no way to safely let go with one hand to take a photo; second, a majority of training and racing a dog team is done during the dark when you can't take photos without a tripod and time exposure. Well, this past weekend fell into the latter category.

We went to bed early Saturday night to get up early Sunday morning because we had a long run in front of us. When we went to bed the sky was thick with nearly black clouds and a wind of what I'm guessing was gusting to 40 or 50 mph; that was the weather all day Saturday. Well, we woke up at 3 am Sunday morning to a crystal clear, nearly full-moon-lit night and decided to hook up and run while the weather was nice. And oh, was it nice; and nice and cold (more clothes would have been nice for that run). The moon was so bright that when running directly toward it I couldn't see the dogs, it was so blinding. Otherwise, it served to cast a magical light on all the adjacent mountain ridges and valleys. And it reminded me of a training run we did last season over Washington Pass on the North Cascades Highway here in Washington -- a cold, bright, moonlit run through some of the most majestic mountains I've ever seen; and another run during which I could take no photographs.

Anyway, I wish I could share the beauty more.