road TO ALASKA

Originally from Okemos, Michigan, Hunter always wanted to be a professional dog musher and race in the Iditarod. In fact, he dressed up as a musher for Halloween when he was only 10 years old.

After high school, Hunter boldly moved from Michigan to Alaska and began working with Nic Petit at Girdwood Mushing Company. Those first years were gritty. Coming to Alaska as a young man with only ambitions of dog mushing and no prior experience requires an austere initiation. Nic offered an experience that was necessarily tough. And Hunter arrived ready to work.

Hunter lived out of a Chevy van in Girdwood for the summer. After bonding with the dogs, he and Nic moved north and built a cabin in Trapper Creek. Under Nic’s mentorship, he learned to put dog care first and to work hard, alone, with no one watching. Summer turned into fall which turned into winter. Hunter stayed in Trapper Creek and trained with about 20 dogs.

That first winter proved that Hunter could not only survive in Alaska, but that he would make it his lifestyle and soon see his dog mushing dreams come true.

RACE HISTORY

Hunter got his feet wet in the professional mushing community by racing the Kobuk 440, his first Iditarod qualifier. Working with Team Petit, he also ran the Copper Basin 300, the Willow 300, and the Goose Bay 150. Some races were hard learning lessons (scratching in the Copper Basin 300) and some were huge successes (receiving the Humanitarian Award in the Willow 300).

At Hunter’s final Iditarod qualifier, Nic Petit introduced him to the Redington family. Friendships grew, and the next chapter Hunter’s mushing career began.

Raymie Redington allowed Hunter to help around his kennel in exchange for a place to stay. At first, Raymie had no intentions of having Hunter mush. But as time went on, Raymie recognized his special connection with the dogs, consistent work ethic, and ability to drive a dog sled. Hunter has spent the last few years with the Redington’s. His most recent races have been under the direction and guidance of Raymie. And the canine athletes have come from the Redington kennel.

MOST RECENTLY…

Knik 200

In this year’s Knik 200, we did exactly what I wanted to do and finished in the top 10 with a healthy, happy team. All the dogs are ready to go again, which always makes me a happy musher. It was a tough race with an incredible field – 7 mushers within an hour of Emily’s nail-biter of a win! We finished a little over 90 minutes from first, which is the closest I’ve ever been. My old man Senior did it again, leading the entire 200 miles. The whole team was fantastic and made me proud, working very hard on all the different trail conditions.

Iditarod

Getting to actually run the Iditarod is an immense privilege. And getting to take Raymie’s dog team was even more of an honor for Hunter. His trip to Nome was a joyride. He had a smoking-fast dog team! Even with what was thought to be a laid-back approach, Hunter continued to stay toward the front of the pack. The trail breakers put in a perfect trail, and Hunter’s competition became his comrades. He crossed the finish line in 11^th place and also won the Donlin Gold Sportsmanship Award.

what’s next

This summer, Hunter is working in Juneau at the AlaskaX Sled Dog Discovery Tour.

Come October or so, Hunter will begin training the team for the next racing season – when the temperature is cool enough for safe distance training.

Training begins with dryland runs where teams pull 4-wheelers and all-terrain vehicles. Then, when the snow is packed deep enough for safe dogsledding, Hunter and the team will begin putting miles on the local trails.

Stay in touch!