Ray musher Ryan Anderson wrapped up his 2014 racing season last weekend with a first-place finish.
Anderson crossed the finish line of the 220-mile Hudson Bay Quest Sled Dog Race around 8 p.m. Friday in Churchill, Manitoba.
“It was cold and windy,” Anderson said of the race that saw temperatures with a 50-degrees-below-zero wind chill. “But it was a good race.”
This was Anderson's fifth race and only first-place win of the season. Earlier this year, Anderson told Journal staff he was going to enjoy the season more and not worry about being too competitive. Still, he admits, going into the Hudson Bay Quest, he was thirsty for a win.
“I started at No. 1 and had a good lead off and on throughout the race,” the musher said. “I knew I had a good shot.”
Anderson said his four-legged teammates recovered “really well” from the Can Am Crown sled dog race at the beginning of the month. Anderson took third place in the event.
“When I got to the (Hudson Bay) race, they were just insane,” he said of the dogs' excitement. “I hadn't seen them like that since December and knew it was going to be a good race.”
Anderson finished the event that runs along the coast of the Hudson Bay from Gillam to Churchill, Manitoba, with seven out of the 10 dogs he started with. He hauled one dog in the bag of his sled for more than four hours at the end of the race.
The race, Anderson said, is unique because it's a self-sufficient race, meaning everything needed for the two-day event needs to be in the musher's sled from start to finish.
“I had to haul a tent plus enough food for myself and the dogs for two days – 200 miles,” he said. “And at 50 below.”
Still, the Hudson Bay Quest is one of Anderson's favorites.
“It's a really neat part of the world to see,” he said of the race route. “There are no trees and it's a tundra. It's really something.”
Trail conditions were also unlike those on which the experienced musher has ever competed. He said some patches were slick with ice, while others were slower to run on because of soft snow, but then packed with hard snow down the trail.
“Last year, I scratched and I was really upset about it,” he said of the 2013 Hudson Bay Quest. “This year, it was great to finish.”
With the 2014 season behind him, Anderson said he plans to unpack his winter gear and work with some of the younger pups in his kennel.
“I've got five puppies that are nine months old and I'm going to try to run them everyday,” he said. “I'm also breeding two litters and going to get caught up on everything and get back to work.”
