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7 p.m., January 3, 2009

Demonstration Forest Trail, Homer

Five degrees below zero

When it's this cold

we usually ski during the warmth of the day, around 2 p.m.

today we delayed

and bundle up to ski Friday Night Lights, Encore:

It feels cold! Thankfully, no wind.

Two kilometers of trail, about a mile and a half

winding through mixed Lutz spruce forest

and lower onto the scattered Black spruce frozen marsh land,

crossing two bridges

all the while surrounded by mottled darkness

snow draped trees

the crunch and swish of gliding skis

overhead the Milky Way banding our winter Arctic sky

with Venus, the Evening Star,

Cassiopeia, the Pleiades, Orion and the Big Dipper

A waxing gibbous "Wolf" moon

Nearly 150 flickering Tiki torches

scattered every hundred feet

moon shadows

dancing against torch shadows

and deeper shadows of darkened woods

we stride and pole, gliding along a magical night pathway

next weekend full moon, lunar skiing!

Thank you Kachemak Nordic Ski Club

an appreciative middling skier

Debi Poore