Musher Hugh Neff visited West Homer Elementary on Friday to engage with students about dog mushing and his love of reading. He was accompanied by two of his now-retired sled dogs, 14-year-old Mojito and his sister Havana. They were two of Neff’s main leaders when he won the Yukon Quest in 2016, Neff wrote in an email to Homer News.
Friday was Neff’s first school visit in Homer, though he has given similar presentations statewide and across the Lower 48 since 2008 as part of the National Education Association-Alaska’s “Read Across Alaska” campaign, an offshoot of the national “Read Across America” program, according to then-NEA-Alaska president Barb Angaiak. Neff, also monikered “The Cat in the Hat,” was selected to become part of the campaign because of his passions for reading and mushing. In his motivational presentations, he encourages kids to find and follow their passions.
“Perseverance and determination are hallmarks of what [Neff] says every time he does a presentation,” Angaiak said during a later phone interview. “That was something that really appealed to us, somebody who was very positive and determined, that if there were obstacles, he was going to figure out how to get past them.”
During his visit to West Homer Elementary, Neff answered questions from the students gathered around him in the library and talked about his racing experiences. Neff used personal items as props to demonstrate the clothing and equipment that both he and the dogs would use in the middle of a race, depending on various circumstances such as weather, snow depth and trail conditions. He emphasized to his audience the importance of taking care of himself and his dogs in order to perform well on the trail.
When asked about what got him into racing, Neff answered, “I fell in love with Alaska … I read books, that’s why NEA sponsored me for years and I promote book-reading. I read Jack London, Robert Service, Lew Freedman, who wrote a bunch of books about Alaska and dog mushing. And I just dreamed.”
Neff followed this answer with a point he makes in every presentation.
“… If you don’t have a passion for what you’re doing in life, you’re not going to have as much fun. If I could teach you anything this morning, it’s to find out what your passion is and go with it,” he said. “It’s not gonna be easy. If you have a real passion for what you’re doing, you have to work through all the bumps along the road, and don’t give up.”
One student asked Neff why he has so much passion for dog sledding.
“It’s almost like flying,” Neff said. He compared “flying” on a dog sled to Harry Potter.
“I always felt sorry for Harry Potter,” he said. “All he had was a little broomstick, and I’ve got 16 dogs. We’re literally floating over the ground half the time.”
Another student asked why Neff is called “The Cat in the Hat.”
“How I became the Cat in the Hat was because of [Barb Angaiak]. Barb said, ‘Oh, who’s this crazy guy carrying books in his sled every year?’ That started about 12 years ago,” Neff said. “The Cat in the Hat was bored easily and he would go do stuff and usually got himself in trouble, and then he’d have to figure out how to save the day at the end, before the parents got home. That’s basically been the story of my life.”
When asked about the races he’s been in, Neff responded, “For me it’s not about winning … it’s about enjoying life and traveling. A lot of people think we’re suffering out there, but most of the time we’re laughing because we can’t believe how lucky we are to live the life we do.”
Neff is a two-time champion of the Yukon Quest, Champion of the Kobuk 440, and top finisher multiple times in the Iditarod, Angaiak wrote in an email to Homer News. Neff is traveling to Norway next week to compete on the Femundslopet trail.
Delcenia Cosman can be reached at delcenia.cosman@homernews.com.
Musher Hugh Neff talks to West Homer Elementary students about reading and dog mushing at a presentation on Friday, Feb. 3 in Homer, Alaska. Photo courtesy of Barb Angaiak
Musher Hugh Neff sits with his two retired sled dogs, Mojito (left) and Havana (right), at a presentation on reading and dog sledding at West Homer Elementary on Friday, Feb. 3 in Homer, Alaska. Photo courtesy of Barb Angaiak
