Musher Biographies

Matt Hayashida
General Manager

Matt Hayashida, 33, was born in Massachusetts but moved west to pursue his passion for the outdoors. He worked in Wyoming for three years as a river/fishing guide during the summer and a dog sled tour guide in the winter. In 1993, he began mushing for personal ambitions and set his sights on the Iditarod the first time he stepped on the runners.

Matt moved to Alaska in 1993 to work with Martin Buser and has been running dogs almost year-round ever since. He makes his living as a sled tour guide on Alaskan glaciers in the summer and trains when the tourist season drops off.

All of the dogs in Hayashida's Rubicon Kennel have been raised from puppies, using the best bloodlines. Matt has competed in the Iditarod twice, finishing in the middle of the pack, and is excited about his return.

Click here for Matt's website.

Danny Humphrey
Camp Facilities Manager

Daniel "Danny" Humphrey, 50, grew up in the Gila basin ranch and timber country of New Mexico and Arizona and moved to Haines, Alaska in 1979. He got into dog sledding his second winter in Alaska, using his two skijouring dogs and borrowed huskies to make up a small recreational team to explore the frozen rivers and valleys. Working as an icefield mushing guide since 2000 he has trained and run dogs with some of the best mushers and sled dogs, both recreational and competitive racers. In winter races, he handles for his musher friends.

Danny is a master timberframe homebuilder, and has been designing and building the first camps for AIE since 1999, has become a master rigger for helicopter slingloads and an expert in temperate icefield camp design, construction, and operation.

He lives in Haines, Alaska, with his wife, Susan, and their children, Evan and Jennie, where they operate a gourmet syrup business and build timberframe homes.

Click here for Danny's website.