HUMAN
Name: Hugh H. Neff
Age: 54
Residence: Anchorage, Alaska
Occupation: Musher
Years involved with Iditarod: I’ve been involved with the Iditarod, my rookie year was 2004
Iditarod Role: Musher
Current Location: Lakefront Hotel, Anchorage, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 3, 2022
Temperature: 68 F Indoors
What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?
I first heard about Iditarod reading a Lew Friedman book called Iditarod Classics and just sort of fell in love with the race. And then I just started working for mushers as a handler back in the late 1990s, actually, for guys like Aaron Burmeister and Ramey Brooks, whole slew of other people. So I’m just always been in love with the race, because it goes through Alaska and I really love Nome. For me, Iditarod is all about getting to Nome.
What is your Why? Why are you here TODAY and involved with the Iditarod?
I’m here today at the Iditarod because I have friends visiting from Hamburg, New York, Orchard Park, all over the country, actually, and taking a little breather from running dogs. We go through all the meetings and all the protocol because at heart, we’re all about the dogs. And that’s really why I’m here today, to be quite honest.
Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences.
Most memorable Iditarod experiences? My rookie year I was going into Nulato from Koyukuk and there’s a guy on a snow machine. And I’m a rookie and I’m from Chicago, so I’m just loving life. There’s a guy on a snow machine with his little kid and I stop and I go, “How far to Nulato?” And he tells me, “11 miles.” And then I go, “Oh, what’s your name?” And he goes, “Hugh.” And I go, “Yeah, I’m Hugh. What’s your name?” And he goes, “My name’s Hugh.” And I go, “Oh, that’s weird.” I go, “What’s your son’s name?” And he goes, “Hugh Jr.” So we had three guys named Hugh all out in the middle of nowhere. So that was something I always remember.
What do you know for sure?
What I know for sure in life is without dogs, I would be bored out of my mind. So dogs are my life.