WHITE MOUNTAIN -- The Bering Sea coast's favorite musher -- John Baker from Kotzebue -- caused quite the stir when he led the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in here at 4:03 p.m. Monday.

“To see an Eskimo come here first, I am very happy,'' said local resident Robert Lincoln. "I’ve got a new idol."

A commercial pilot, Baker is an Inupiat from Kotzebue up the coast to the north. The term Eskimo has gone out of favor in some places, but is still regularly used by some of the Native residents of the Arctic Alaska coast.

Lincoln said he used to be a fan of immigrant Swiss and now naturalized U.S. citizen Martin Buser from Big Lake, a four-time champ. But Baker's performance this year has inspired Lincoln as it has others. People seemed universally impressed by the pluck and perseverance of Baker, a man who has for more than a decade worked to get himself into position to win an Iditarod.

It will not be easy. Only 50 minutes after his arrival in the checkpoint, Baker had company in the form of Ramey Smyth from Willow. Making up 50 minutes over the last 80 miles of travel -- after more than 850 miles and a week of racing -- would be no easy task, but it is not totally out of the question, especially if Baker makes any sort of slip up on the last leg.

Baker said he had been "hoping to get here earlier, (but) time just got away." His mind was set on a arrival time of 2 to 2:30 p.m., he said, but many knowledgeable observers seemed to think that just a wee bit too optimistic. "It could be that I was tired and hopeful," Baker said.

Racers face a mandatory eight-hour layover here. It provides enough time for the dogs to get a good long rest and the musher a nap between dog feedings. It does not allow much time for celebrating, but the locals appeared to willing to do that for Baker.

Church bells rang to greet his arrival. Nordic skiers, for which this village is somewhat famous, swarmed across the snow toward his dog team as media with notebooks and videocameras closed in around. Someone held a sign that read: "Go John Baker -- we are proud of you."

A place had been pre-arranged for him to park his dog team. "Celebrity parking -- tonight only," a sign said. And there were a lot of homemade signs urging Baker on. Eleven-year-old Mike Simon Jr. carried one that said "Welcome to White Mountain John Baker." His mother helped him make it, he said, even though his favorite musher was Lance Mackey from Fairbanks, because he'd won four Iditarods in a row.

That is most certainly about to change. Mackey was Sunday struggling to try to hang on to a top 10 finish. He had no hope of catching the front runners, led by the regional favorite -- Baker.

"Go John Baker" they shouted, along with "Go Qimuqtip go!" in Inupiat. (Translation: Go dogs go!) School-aged children sported little yellow hearts pinned to their jackets that said, "Go Mushers go! We love our Mushers."

Some were, however, loved more than others. The village welcome was a little more subdued when Smyth's team came onto the frozen, snow-covered Fish River beneath the picturesque village on a beautifully clear and glorious Alaska day. Smyth confessed he'd endured a long, tough run over a hill called "Little McKinley" between Elim and Golovin, followed by the miles and miles over a lot of featureless snow-covered ice and tundra from Golovin in here.

Smyth called it "the hardest run of my career.