In the lead is Kanuti, your best dog, the dog you would do 'most anything for because he once did the same for you - risked his life to safe yours - and a dog like that comes along only once in a lifetime, if ever. The rest of the team follows, nine dogs in all. Their breathing dances in the light from your headlamp, the only light around, save for a million stars overhead. Orion, Pegasus and the Pleiades shine through the air with mesmerizing clarity. You stare at them as the sled jostles forward on the lonely trail, sinking into the dark distance over ice and snow on the beautiful, dangerous night.
from "IDITAROD SPIRIT" by Kim Heacox
