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As a frigid night descended on the uninhabited Innoko River Valley in Interior Alaska's wildest terrain, a pack of top teams drove toward the halfway camp of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Thursday night, threatening to overtake leaders still completing mandatory rests. One thing was clear: What had once appeared to be a slight lead by defending champ Doug Swingley was almost gone. By Thursday night, Kasilof musher Paul Gebhardt, who set the pace through the Alaska Range, was poised to head for the Yukon River in the lead. Three-time champ Jeff King was less than an hour behind Gebhardt. Another 19 teams with completed layovers were bearing down. The race for the Yukon River had commenced, leaving the 1,100-mile race with no clear leader more than halfway though. If Swingley and other top teams depart on schedule, the 112-mile drive north to Ruby will become a virtual Iditarod Hall of Fame by dawn this morning. A gang of five teams - including the four men who have won the past nine championships and Gebhardt, the champ of this year's Copper Basin 300 - would be traveling only hours apart. Another two dozen teams would be right behind. Only a day before, Swingley appeared to be executing a repeat of last year's winning strategy when he again reached the halfway camp first with 12 dogs. The 46-year-old musher from Lincoln, Mont., who reportedly rested his team during his 12-hour trip from Ophir, seized the halfway trophy and $3,000 in gold nuggets for his effort. Three-time winner Martin Buser arrived a few hours later, at 2:35 a.m., with 13 dogs. Five-time winner Rick Swenson pulled in 20 minutes after that with 14. And 1983 champion Rick Mackey arrived at 5:30 a.m. with 15 dogs. Each of the three veteran mushers were awarded $2,000 in gold nuggets from race sponsor GCI. But as they threw down straw and nestled in their dogs for at least 24 hours of mandatory rest, other top teams parked at checkpoints along 103 miles of trail were waking up, lining out - and giving chase. Only an hour after Swingley parked his team in Cripple, Manley musher Charlie Boulding - the last musher to start the race - finished his layover 100 miles back in McGrath. His 18-mile run to the next checkpoint in Takotna was one of the fastest by any musher. About an hour later, Jeff King also left McGrath, also moving fast. By just after 3 a.m., Gebhardt was on the trail too, launching from Takotna with 14 dogs. Gebhardt passed through Ophir, only 25 miles away, by 5:25 a.m. King was out on the trail to Cripple by 6:08 a.m. Both men stopped in Ophir only minutes. Boulding, whose team had been described as one of the strongest, actually beat Gebhardt into Ophir by one minute. But Boulding remained there for nearly 31/2 hours, losing much of his edge. Meanwhile, Big Lake musher Ramey Smyth, known for high speeds and surprise moves, pulled into Cripple about 1:40 p.m. with 13 dogs. Although he won't get to chase until this afternoon if he takes his 24-hour layover there, Smyth did receive $1,000 in gold nuggets as consolation for arriving fifth at halfway. Figuring out which dog driver would parlay all this maneuvering and resting and running into a lead that would carry his team down the Yukon River to the Bering Sea coast was impossible to gauge Thursday night. Would Gebhardt and King be able to leapfrog ahead at Cripple? Would Swingley, Buser and Swenson be able to overtake them because their teams were fresher? Was Mackey too far behind - or in just the right spot? Joe Runyan, the 1989 champ who is filing dispatches on the Internet, wrote Thursday that the race was too close to call. Swingley may have the fastest team, but Buser and Swenson were following more "prudent" schedules, he wrote. He was also impressed with Gebhardt and King. "According to race times, Jeff is driving one of the fastest, if not the swiftest, team on the trail," Runyan filed to the web early on Thursday. "His race will be an interesting study if he closes the gap at Cripple Creek. Runyan's conclusion? "I can honestly tell you that the jury is out."
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