Gebhardt was the first to reach Rainy Pass, the highest point on the trail, at 10:19 a.m. All 16 of his dogs were still in harness, including Lieutenant, a speedy 3-year-old leader that's the grandson of Gebhardt's former Golden Harness winner, Red Dog.

Lieutenant led Gebhardt to a fifth-place finish in the Kuskokwim 300 in January through some challenging terrain and led the team out of Anchorage during last year's Iditarod, too.

"Absolutely, he's back in the lead," Evy Gebhardt, the musher's wife, said Monday afternoon by phone from Kasilof. "He's the perfect combination of athleticism, attitude and drive."

Shortly after noon, Yukon Quest champion Hans Gatt and Cim Smyth, the sixth-place Iditarod finisher last year, joined Gebhardt at Rainy Pass.

If Gebhardt is to make his 13th Iditarod his luckiest, he'll need to match his dogs' drive.

"He's extremely fit," Evy Gebhardt said of her husband. "And he's more mentally focused that he was five years ago."

Gebhardt first finished second in 2000, some five hours behind four-time champion Doug Swingley of Montana. Seven years later he trailed only Lance Mackey into Nome as the Fairbanks musher rang up the first of his three consecutive Iditarod victories and shocked many race watchers by winning the Yukon Quest and Iditarod back to back.

Only three other mushers in Iditarod history have finished second more than once without winning:

• DeeDee Jonrowe, 56, of Willow, was second in 1992 and 1998.

• Ramy Brooks finished two hours behind Martin Buser's fastest-ever Iditarod in 2002 before trailing Norwegian Robert Sorlie to the finish line a year later.

• Warner Vent was second in 1974 to the late Carl Huntington and second in 1976 to Gerald Riley.

Over the last couple of years, Gebhardt has watched with pride as Lieutenant came into his prime.

"He's the strongest and probably the best leader I've every owned as far as wanting to please me and the drive he has," Gebhardt said before last year's race.

Gebhardt owns roughly a two-hour lead into Rainy Pass. But a huge slug of about three dozen mushers have left Finger Lake for the uphill 30-mile run to Rainy Pass.

Often, racers rest there and don't begin the precarious downhill run that includes the infamous Dalzell Gorge until the heat of the day has passed.

Reporter Mike Campbell can be reached at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.