Hi Bob, you are right it is a difficult thinkg to shoot in this kind of low light condition.  Here is a couple of tips that might help.
If possible use a tripod or other solid surface to rest your camera, part of your blurring might have been camera shake.  If you are hiking and can't take a tripod we actually carry an item that is like a bean bag that you mount your camera to, very light and easy to carry.
Also try a longer exposure and smaller aperature, this will also help with your focus issues.  If you have a canon flash unit, you can set it for focus assist, the flash won't fire but it will send out a stronger infared beam.
Let me know if this helps with your next night shots.  Barry Hill - Stan C. Reade Photo

I recently went on a camping trip and wanted to get some long exposure night shots of the wooded areas around the campsite. the ligting after the exposure wanst a problem. However my focus was way off. Auto focus didnt work (I use a Rebel XT), so I did my best to manually focus. With it being dark it was tough to see through the viewfinder. My shots all ended up out of focus no matter what i tried. Any ideas?