Just minutes separated frontrunners Hugh Neff and Allen Moore on Sunday as the pair drove their teams to the penultimate checkpoint in Braeburn, Yukon, just 100 miles from the Whitehorse finish line. If it stays that close to the end, the ax will fall on Neff's hopes of winning his first Quest title.
Neff was assessed a 30-minute penalty, which he will serve in Braeburn, for not having his ax when he arrived at the Pelly Crossing checkpoint early Sunday morning. An ax is part of the mandatory gear mushers must carry on the trail from Fairbanks to Whitehorse.
This is the second time in four races Neff has been hit with a penalty, and the last time it cost him the victory.
In 2009, the Tok musher was slapped with a two-hour penalty for driving his team off trail and onto the roadway while climbing Eagle Summit, a violation of the rules. Sebastian Schnuelle beat Neff by four minutes that year.
This time, he left his ax behind in Dawson, where he used it but forgot to put it back in his sled bag, Quest officials reported on Facebook.
KUAC radio reported that Neff, an eight-time Quest finisher who has finished second once and third twice, realized the ax was missing when he stopped at Scroggie Creek, a dog drop on the roughly 200-mile run from Dawson to Pelly Crossing.
"He informed the race judge immediately," KUAC reported.
Once he arrived at Pelly Crossing, Neff had to wait six minutes before he officially could check in. That's how long it took one of his handlers to fetch a replacement ax -- Quest rules don't allow mushers to check in without all of their mandatory gear.
Neff, 44, was the first musher to Carmacks on Sunday afternoon, which is roughly halfway through the 150 miles that separate Pelly Crossing and Braeburn. He got there at 2:55 p.m. AST. He was down to nine dogs, two fewer than when he left Pelly Crossing.
Moore, a Two Rivers musher who finished sixth in his rookie run last year, arrived three minutes later with 11 dogs in harness.
Also at Carmacks was Schnuelle, who is following this year's race on snowmachine and writing updates that are being posted on the Quest's Facebook page.
"Hugh is sitting in the hallway and telling stories about the trail and of course his philosophies," Schnuelle wrote. "He once again managed to net himself a penalty, this time by loosing his ax. So he better make up 30 minutes somehow. By now I would say it is safe to say that this race is between those 2 mushers."
Neff wouldn't have been hit with the 30-minute penalty if the store at Pelly Crossing had been open and had an ax in stock. But it was 3:27 a.m. in Pelly Crossing when Neff reached the checkpoint. The store was closed.
Rules allow mushers to replace accidentally lost gear with gear from a public source. But if the replacement comes from a private source, like Neff's did, it comes with a 30-minute penalty.
About three hours behind Neff and Moore is Lance Mackey, who reached Carmacks at 6:04 p.m. Sunday. The four-time Quest champion and four-time Iditarod champion from Fairbanks is running nine dogs.
Jake Berkowitz, a Big Lake rookie, picked up speed to move into fourth place with a team of 10. Fifth-place Brent Sass of Eureka carried a dog in the basket into Pelly Crossing but still has 13 dogs.
The race started a week ago Saturday and should end Tuesday.
Reach Beth Bragg at 257-4335 or bbragg@adn.com.
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