Hugh Neff pulled into Dawson City Tuesday afternoon for a relaxing 36 hours off the demanding Yukon Quest trail and secure he'll be the first to leave.
Neff, the runnerup in the 2009 ultramarathon between Whitehorse and Fairbanks, arrived in the town that was the heartbeat of the Klondike Gold Rush, at 3:35 p.m.
He has until the predawn hours on Thursday to rest, gamble or hang out at places like Diamond Tooth Gerties. No doubt attending to the needs of his 13 dogs will be at the top of his to-do list.
Neff, of Tok, made the 100-mile slog from the previous checkpoint of Scroggie Creek in more than 17 hours. Most mushers stop to rest and snack their dogs several times enroute.
Behind him were a pack of 11 mushers headed toward Dawson City. Determining their order was difficult because Scroggie Creek is a remote checkpoint and communications were down much of Monday and Tuesday.
The mushers in that pack include defending champion Hans Gatt of Whitehorse; fellow Canadian Sebastian Schnuelle, the 2009 champion; Ken Anderson of Fox, a former Quest runnerup; and such young studs as Dallas Seavey, eighth place in last year's Iditarod, and Joshua Cadzow of Fort Yukon, the Quest rookie of the year just 12 months ago.
Once the top half of the field leaves Whitehorse headed towards Alaska, it will be easier to determine who's ahead. In addition to taking a 36-hour rest, the mushers' differing start times from Whitehorse will be adjusted.
Neff, who regularly runs the Quest and Iditarod back to back, finished third in the Quest and ninth in the Iditarod last year.
Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.
By MIKE CAMPBELL
mcampbell@adn.com