After I
turned my headlamp off, I saw the true beauty of the winter night reflected
across all the snow covered trees. The moon was about half full providing just
enough light for me to see down the trail that I had been running on for about
the past fifteen minutes. Somewhere in the moonlight my dog Wild was running
through the newly fallen snow, where exactly he was I could not tell as the
bell he was wearing was now just out of earshot. I wanted to stop to take it
all in but this was still a run.
I
should have run earlier in the day. I would have except my daughter was home
with a fever for the second day in a row. The fever was going down now without
medication as I took her temperature just before I left, leaving her at home
along with my wife and son. Thankfully my parents had come over to babysit her
so I could go to work but now it was 8:30 at night and I finally could get out
for my daily run. Wild needed to run as well, and since the salt on the roads
are awful for his feet I knew that we needed to hit some trails so it was a
short drive over to Hedgehog Mountain to run along trails that I knew really
well.
The run
started with my headlamp on and Wild immediately off the leash. I was glad to
see some tracks in the snow from someone earlier in the day. This made it
easier to follow the trail which was still a little challenging to follow
despite my familiarity with these trails. I had my watch running but never
looked at the pace, staying focused on the trail lit up in front of me and
listening for Wild’s bell.
Occasionally
Wild popped out onto the trail ahead of me as I could only see his eyes being
reflected by my light. His eyes shone better than any reflective gear I had
ever seen, and I could only see his eyes for a moment before they turned away
as he charged ahead.
We
crossed a stream, he getting a small drink and me slowing to a walk not wanting
to slip on the crooked bridge like I had a week before leaving my shin with a
couple scrapes and some swelling. We climbed a small hill and I had to call to
him to change his direction at the top. I was so pleased with his enthusiasm to
follow my direction and I felt my pace increase as I followed my light.
Another
turn with Wild following my lead and I decided to tilt my light up which
revealed much more of the forest’s beauty in the night. I grew less concerned with Wild’s loyalty and
focused more on my run crunching through the snow. I had dug out an old pair of
waterproof light hiker shoes that I hadn’t used in years but glad they were
doing the job of keeping my feet dry in the cold night.
We
circled back toward the bridge and as I spotted Wild’s brightly reflected eyes,
I wondered what his view of me was like coming toward him with my headlamp glaring.
I walked once again across the bridge seeing his eyes waiting for me up the
hill.
Now on
an old road that was really more trail now than a road, I checked my pace on my
watch which indicated I was moving at under an eight minute mile pace. I knew I
hadn’t been consistently doing that but it gave me satisfaction knowing that I
was indeed really running and not just plodding through the night’s stillness.
Moments
later was when I turned my light off with the moon high overhead just at my
back. I was amazed at how well I could indeed see and continued to move swiftly
through the snow. I made my way to one of the summit trails but was forced to
turn the light back on to be sure I was on the trail and quickly found some of
the tracks left by some other adventurer earlier in the day.
At the
ledge just off the summit, I turned the light off again, looking westward
knowing many miles away Mt. Washington lay hidden in the darkness. There were
some lights of houses below but I took very little notice and strode up to the
summit, looking forward to more running.
I grew
a little wary coming down the steeper trail not being able to see any slight
obstacles directly underfoot but then as Wild came cruising by me I realized
that he had been running the whole time with no light to guide his path. Oh,
how I was jealous of his abilities.
The
path forced me to turn on the light once again, as I grew a little worried that
I had no means to communicate with the rest of the world if I should come
across an unforeseen emergencies. I was blessed however, that snow did begin to
fall again and my light made me more aware of the beautiful white crystals
blowing in front of my vision.
Back to
the old road and now without a light, I picked up the pace to the next
intersection. Wild was somewhere behind me and as I called to him, I did turn
on my light for him to find me. A quick check of my watch revealed we had
traveled just over three miles in thirty two minutes. Not a pace to get me into
the Boston Marathon, but this solitude in the night was far greater than
getting elbowed and packed in among twenty thousand other free spirits.
Wild
stayed just ahead of me on our final dash to the car, and although I wanted to
stay out for more, I knew that my soul was satisfied for the evening. Wild
leaped into the car being rewarded with some treats. Back at home a few minutes
later he looked at me as if he wanted to do more, or maybe he just really
wanted more treats. After a quick check on my sleeping daughter I came back to
the kitchen to find Wild laying down, now truly done for the night. I too,
would soon be lying down to slumber as the rest of my family, happily with
visions in my mind of a forest covered in crystals somehow aware that it’s
beauty was a secret that only those willing to turn off the light and away from the rest of mankind would ever be
aware of.
