Robert Forto

Iditarod

Iditarod 2011: Hugh Neff–One cool cat

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When you see all of the mushers line up for the ceremonial start on Fourth Avenue on Saturday to begin the Iditarod, you see just about everything. There are teams with big name corporate sponsors like banks and hardware stores. There are others that are driving up to Anchorage from far off lands in a dog trucks that looks like it should belong to their grandpa, held together with duct tape and all.

You see Scottish mushers with bag pipes and kilts. A Mushin’ Mortician and lots of kids on the tug sled to see mom or dad of on the journey (that actually begins the next day) of over a thousand miles.

Then you have Hugh Neff. Hugh is not like all the other guys. At least when it comes to the huge sponsors and kids in tow. It is him and his partner/girlfriend Tamra and that’s about it. Well, except for The Cat in the Hat, of course!

Neff has been sponsored by the National Education Association of Alaska for the last several years and takes part in a program where he speaks to rural Alaskan schools about the importance of reading. He also conducts school tours in the off season to talk to kids about the importance of dreams, living in the north and the importance of hard work.

School kids and teachers alike from all over the nation love Hugh and what a better ambassador to promote education and this great sport.

While all the mushers come to the party on 4th Avenue intent on running a good race, Neff can back it up. He has run in 19 thousand mile races since he moved to Alaska in 1996 with a couple dogs and not much else. This is his eighth Iditarod and his team is composed of “Annie’s Army” which is his stedfast lead dog and a fan favorite. Several of her pups are in this years race.

In each Iditarod he has moved up in the ranks with his best finish in 9th last year.

In this year’s race he is giving the top dogs like Martin Buser, Sebastian Schnuelle, Hans Gatt, Jon Baker, and Lance Mackey a run for their money.

Neff claimed the prize for the first musher to reach the Yukon River.

For being the first musher to reach the Yukon, Neff wins a seven-course meal that will be prepared on camp stoves by chefs from the Millennium Alaskan Hotel, which sponsors the checkpoint prize. The $3,500 is considered the after-dinner mint to the meal, presented on a gold pan.

Who would want a meal like that after almost six days on the trail and little to no sleep? I  admit, I would, but I would want to find a quiet place quick to grab a short cat-nap, too.

With 507 miles to go to Nome it is still anyone’s race. Many of the teams are closing on Neff’s team and the trail is getting punchy and the teams will slow down. It is not nearly as fast as it was the first portion of the race and you will see teams beginning to compensate for the trail conditions.

But hey, this just might be Hugh’s year. It couldn’t happen to a better guy!

Listen to our Iditarod coverage daily on Mush! You Huskies. You can find us on iTunes (search Dog Works Radio) or click on Mushing Radio now.

Robert Forto | Team Ineka | Alaska Dog Works | Mushing Radio | Dog Works Radio | Denver Dog Works | Daily Post

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Robert Forto is a musher training for his first Iditarod under the Team Ineka banner and the host of the popular radio shows, Mush! You Huskiesand Dog Works Radio Shows

Iditarod 2011: Sled Dog Cuisine–Soup, Stew, or Gruel

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Mushers: What do you feed your dogs?

Listen to our Iditarod coverage daily on Mush! You Huskies. You can find us on iTunes (search Dog Works Radio) or click on Mushing Radio now.

Robert Forto | Team Ineka | Alaska Dog Works | Mushing Radio | Dog Works Radio | Denver Dog Works | Daily Post

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Robert Forto is a musher training for his first Iditarod under the Team Ineka banner and the host of the popular radio shows, Mush! You Huskies and Dog Works Radio Shows

Iditarod 2011: Zoya DeNure and Miller

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In covering the Iditarod there is a constant stream of analysis by arm-chair quarterbacks and veterans alike. There are so many blogs, tweets and Facebook posts that boggle the mind. There is news, public interest pieces and tons of videos on YouTube.

And then there are stories.

The Iditarod trail is a brutal place. Some call may call it the last bastion of athletic competition. Dreams are strewn from one end of the trail to the other as the Iditarod sweeps them up and tosses them aside.

For others, if not most, it is a life changing experience that even the burly veterans say makes them more humble every year.

Then there is Zoya DeNure and her dog Miller.

On Wednesday DeNure was reunited with her beloved eight year old male that she feared was dead. Miller collapsed in harness on the trail on Monday for reasons that are still not known.

DeNure rushed to the the dog and frantically checked for a pulse and could not find one. She performed mouth to snout resuscitation on Miller and she thought he had passed away. She loaded him up in the sled basket and headed back to Rainy Pass.

According to a report in the Anchorage Daily News, DeNure said,” My whole body was trembling. I felt like I was the worst person in the world. I hated myself because I put him on the trail.”

The team flew down the trail back to Rainy Pass with their teammate in the sled bag. Maybe somehow they knew that their friend hung in the delicate balance between life and death. We will never know.

Near Rainy Pass, Miller opened up his eyes and looked at Zoya.

Upon arriving at the checkpoint, DeNure rushed the the care of the trail veterinarians and they put an IV in him and covered him up.

As the hours ticked by Miller was still weak and unable to walk. DeNure, who runs a rescue with her husband, John Schandelmeier, a former Yukon Quest Champion, for unwanted sled dogs in their hometown of Gakona, knew she had a decision to make.

The Iditarod rules state that she can drop Miller from her team and continue on down the trail or she could scratch. To DeNure, and every other musher, the dogs are her life. That is reason we do this crazy sport. It is not for the fame and it surely is not for the money. It is for the dogs.

DeNure asked the vet staff if Miller was going to make it and they said they didn’t know. She decided to stay with her dog.

Zoya scratched.

On Tuesday, Miller was flown to Big Lake and her husband picked him. When DeNure was reunited with her dog he was his “normal self” and the veterinarians gave him a clean bill of health.

At Rainy Pass the the musher had a long time to think. Finishing 53rd in her 2008 rookie run and scratching in 2009, she just realized something on the trail. That mid-distance races are what she is going to focus on for now.

Those races are still no walk in the park. The Copper Basin is a 300 mile race that is a qualifier for the Iditarod and most will say it gives a dog driver the best example of what they will see on the Iditarod trail. Others like the Tustumena 200 and a bevy of races around Alaska will give DeNure the chance to continue to do what she loves, which is run dogs.

But for now, DeNure says she is in no hurry to return to the Iditarod.

Robert Forto | Team Ineka | Alaska Dog Works | Mushing Radio | Dog Works Radio | Denver Dog Works | Daily Post

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Robert Forto is a musher training for his first Iditarod under the Team Ineka banner and the host of the popular radio shows, Mush! You Huskies and Dog Works Radio Shows

Citation: adn.com. Photo: adn.com