HUMAN
Name: Cali Best (King)
Age: 41
Residence: Denali, Alaska
Occupation: General Manager Tonglen Lake Lodge– Denali
First Year Ran Iditarod: 2003
Iditarod Role: Musher
Current Location: Downtown Anchorage Ceremonial Start Staging Area
Date of Photo: March 7, 2026
Temperature: 16F
Question 1: What is it about running sled dogs that you love so much?
What I love about running sled dogs is the opportunity to be in nature, in the quiet, allow the dogs to experience and do the thing that they were born and raised to do. It is a very peaceful experience.
Question 2: What, who or how and when & why did you first get involved running the Iditarod?
I got involved running the Iditarod because of my father, Jeff King, who was racing every year, as long as I could remember. I grew up right there in his kennel, helping care for the dogs, and got the opportunity to start racing in high school, starting with the junior Iditarod, and then eventually completing the Iditarod my senior year of high school as the youngest musher ever at the time.
Question 3: Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences running the Iditarod.
One of the memorable experiences I had running the Iditarod is trying to leave Shaktoolik. It was super windy that year, and I was fairly far back in the pack. My team had been doing really well.
We were on schedule, and by Shaktoolik, I was in and amongst some mushers who had had to send home their lead dogs. And I ended up basically being given the opportunity to lead several mushers out of Shaktoolik because their team wouldn’t go without the leader in front.
It felt like a lot of pressure for an 18 year old. And I did actually have even some struggles with my own leaders running into a very strong headwind, but we persisted and helped to get multiple other mushers on the trail. And that was definitely very memorable.
What in life do you know for sure?:
What I know for sure in life is that kindness and empathy are core values that will carry you through many, many different experiences.