John Baker naps in Kaltag Saturday. He was the first musher to reach and leave the checkpoint. (Bob Hallinen)

Saturday, 8 p.m. update
Kotzebue's John Baker, driving a team of huskies familiar with Alaska's western coast, pulled out of Kaltag at 5:18 tonight, headed toward Unalakleet -- the place where the Iditarod hits the Norton Sound coast.

He's got a run of 90 miles ahead of him. Race volunteers reported zero-degree temperatures in Unalakleet early this evening and said it will get colder overnight.

Now the question is how long Baker will have the trail to himself. When he left Eagle Island early this morning, no one gave chase for 2.5 hours.

Baker's biggest competition appears to be Ramey Smyth, who had the fastest run on the 70-mile stretch between Eagle Island and Kaltag. By the time Smyth reached Kaltag, he'd taken 51 minutes off Baker's lead -- but the most recent official standings, released at 7:24 p.m., show no one out of Kaltag but Baker.

Lance Mackey, the four-time defending champion, reached the final checkpoint on the Yukon River at 6:50 tonight, in ninth place. While Smyth made the run to Kaltag in 8 hours, 23 minutes, Mackey needed 9:57.

Smyth in second, slices into Baker's lead

Saturday update, 4:15 p.m.
Ramey Smyth blazed into Kaltag this afternoon with a speedy team that sliced 51 minutes off the lead John Baker held when he left Eagle Island early this morning.
Smyth made the 70-mile run in 8 hours, 23 minutes. Baker did it in 9:14.
Sebastian Schnuelle and Hugh Neff showed up about 30 minutes after Smyth. Schnuelle was the third musher in, with Neff right on his heels.
Smyth is known as one of the best sprinters in the sport and has won the Nome Kennel Club's annual award for the fastest time from Safety to Nome on seven occasions, more than any other musher.
When reporter Kyle Hopkins asked Smyth if he's ready to sprint once the race reaches the coast at Unalakleet, Smyth replied, "We are already sprinting, in my mind."
Maybe that explains how Smyth managed to cut so much time off Baker's lead, which was 2 hours and 33 minutes out of Eagle Island early this morning. Baker reach Kaltag at 1:19 this afternoon, 1:43 ahead of Smyth.
"If you can make up any time on John, you're doing good," Smyth said. "He's got the toughest dogs in Alaska. They eat good, they stay happy, and he doesn't need to stop."
Smyth told Kyle that if he wants to win the race, he and his dogs need to get out of their comfort zone and reduce their rest time. "I'm not used to taking chances," he said.
Smyth is running 14 dogs but might leave behind two that have never made it as far as Nome. Overall, he's pleased with the team's performance so far.
"They're doing their job. They're working. They're going great," he said.

Baker wants rest, even if his dogs don't

Saturday update, 2:45 p.m.

Iditarod leader John Baker, saying he's more tired than his dogs are, is settling in for a nap in Kaltag, the ADN's Kyle Hopkins reports.

"The dogs don't seem to need much (rest)," Baker said of the 12 huskies that brought him into Kaltag this afternoon, well ahead of any other teams.

A veteran from Kotzebue, Baker told Kyle he was surprised to hear he was likely to have the checkpoint to himself for a couple hours.

Though his lead into Eagle Island was a mere 19 minutes, other mushers spent a couple more hours than Baker did at the bare-bones checkpoint. Baker left Eagle Island at 4:06 this morning, and for 2 hours and 33 minutes, no one gave chase.

"There will be a lot of teams here in a few hours, and it certainly isn't that much of a lead," Baker said.

It's mild and clear in Kaltag, the last stop on the Yukon River before the race turns toward Unalakleet and the coast. Baker didn't wear a hat as he took care of his dogs, his eyes shielded from the sunshine with Native-brand sunglasses.

The weather could change once on the coast, and earlier Kyle asked Baker if he thought his dogs -- thick-coated animals from western Alaska that are used to harsh conditions -- might have an advantage once the race hits the coast.

Baker said he hoped so. But he also said he's racing against world-class mushers and world-class dogs, so he isn't sure if he and his dogs will have any advantage at all.

Baker in Kaltag, surprised by lead

Update, 2 p.m.:
A weary John Baker arrived in Kaltag around 1:20 this afternoon, surprised by his lead and craving sleep.

Baker, the veteran dog driver from Kotzebue, told the ADN's Kyle Hopkins that he was surprised to learn no one followed him out of Eagle Island for more than two hours earlier this morning.

He beat Hugh Neff to Eagle Island by only 16 minutes, but Neff stayed at the checkpoint more than two hours longer than Baker.

Baker said he planned to drop 7-year-old Riot, a dog that has been a leader in other races but not in this one. That will leave him with 11 dogs.

Update, 1:20 p.m.:: Kyle reports that John Baker and his team pulled into Kaltag just now.

John Baker comes onto the slough as he leaves the Yukon River Village Anvik. (Bob Hallinen)

Baker leads, Mackey drops to 12th

Saturday update, 9:30 a.m. Kotzebue's John Baker and a team of 12 huskies left Eagle Island early this morning to expand his lead in the Iditarod, while four-time champion Lance Mackey plummeted from third place to 12th place and trails Baker by almost five hours.

Mackey, the four-time defending champion from Fairbanks, left the checkpoint at 8:53 a.m.. He's still running nine dogs.

Baker left at 4:05 a.m., more than 2.5 hours ahead of anyone else. At 6:38 a.m., Sebastian Schnuelle gave chase, with Hugh Neff and Ramey Smyth leaving a minute later.

They're headed up the Yukon River toward the village of Kaltag, the last checkpoint before the trail turns west toward Unalakleet and the Bering Sea coast.

Baker was the first to reach Eagle Island, pulling in just after midnight at 12:09, with Neff following closely in 12:25. But while Baker rested his team for just under four hours, Neff stayed at the checkpoint for more than six hours.

Ten mushers are out of Eagle Island. No. 10 is DeeDee Jonrowe, who left at 8:14 a.m.