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The Yukon Quest held its 2023 Meet the Musher event last evening at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre in Whitehorse.

The Bib Draw was also held at around 7:30 p.m.

The 2023 Yukon Quest mushers and a lot of their fans were in attendance.

Mayla Hill and Aaron Peck made it into Whitehorse Wednesday night from Grand Prairie. They are both racing in the YQ450. The Star spoke with Hill just prior to the Meet the Musher event.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty exciting. We鈥檝e got a lot of young dogs. We鈥檝e got quite a few veterans that will be going from here onto Iditarod, so this will be more like a training run and getting those yearlings to the finish line.鈥�

Meet the Mushers is a new experience for Hill.

鈥淚 haven鈥檛 done the Meet the Mushers and actually for Iditarod I don鈥檛 think I was there when Aaron was doing it either, so this is all pretty new territory.

鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting. I鈥檓 not exactly sure what I鈥檓 in for but it鈥檒l be fun I鈥檓 sure.鈥�

Hill said their dogs are looking really good.

鈥淲e just finished the Classic in Fort St.James. We did really well with that. The yearlings surprised the hell out of us. They were really finishing strong at the end. In that warm weather in the mountains, they really surprised us.

鈥淩ight now, the main goal is to get as much weight on those young dogs as possible. They did lose a little bit from that race. Going into this race, we鈥檇 like to have a little bit more weight onto them but I think we鈥檙e pretty close to what we want. They got prepared from that race for this one, so we鈥檙e excited.鈥�

The Classic at Fort St. James is a 200 mile race.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all in the mountains 鈥� I took first with the yearlings and Aaron had a lot of the main dogs. They all finished fantastic. It was a really good race.鈥�

Hill said her and Peck will be running the 450 together most of the time, until the end anyway.

鈥淚t鈥檚 gonna be a great race.鈥�

Quest fan Doreen Johnson came all the way from Williams Lake for the Quest. In fact, she was on the Air North flight that had to land at Prince George when the plane depressurized.

鈥淚t didn鈥檛 get scary until the oxygen (masks) fell,鈥� she related.

Regarding the Quest, Johnson said 鈥淚 came up for this, because before COVID we used to watch it on the computer and that was when Jessie Holmes was there. I liked to watch him and cheer for him but now it looks like there鈥檚 a whole new bunch of people.

鈥淚鈥檓 celebrating my birthday here, which is tomorrow.鈥�

Johnson was there with her son Mark, who lives in Whitehorse, so she did a combined trip.

鈥淐ame to see the mushers and came to see my son.鈥�

Johnson was hoping to get to Dawson for the finish, but her granddaughter is competing in hand games taking place at Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre this weekend. So she may try to make it to Braeburn instead.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping we can time it to see if we can make that schedule.鈥�

Musher Aaron Peck said the event was 鈥渨onderful. It鈥檚 good to be in town. We love coming up to the Yukon. The energy鈥檚 good.

鈥淚鈥檓 used to running Iditarod where you can have a thousand people. This is a mini version of that right now. It鈥檚 great. I think they鈥檙e doing it the right way again, getting the public out and meeting each other and tell our stories. It鈥檚 really good.鈥�

As for their dog team, Peck said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e being cautious. Our team鈥檚 got a core group for Iditarod. They鈥檒l be on the race trail. But we鈥檝e got a lot of young dogs too, so between me and Mayla we just want to get as many to the finish line in a positive way. Show them the trail, build up their confidence, teach them what they can do and just have fun.鈥�

Laird Smith and his wife Cornelia Scheper-Tames originally came from Edmonton to see the Northern Lights.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 know about the Quest until we got here but one of our group was in Toronto at a book club and one of the members of the book club suggested that he look up Frank Turner when he gets here, so he did.鈥�

Smith and Scheper-Tames went to a Questfest talk that Frank Turner had on Tuesday.

鈥淎t that meeting, Frank talked about Meet the Mushers, so here we are, meeting the mushers,鈥� said Smith.

鈥淚鈥檓 on a journey. It鈥檚 an adventure.鈥�

Smith said he thought the event was 鈥渇antastic. There鈥檚 so much to learn.鈥�

At that point in the evening, they鈥檇 met three or four of the mushers.

They also had the opportunity to spend a little time with Turner, a Quest legend.

鈥淲e talked to him for two hours at dinner. He鈥檚 such a library of knowledge. It鈥檚 amazing to listen to him.鈥�

Musher Connor McMahon, also running the 450, said 鈥淭here鈥檚 a good amount of people here. A lot busier than it鈥檚 been the last few years of racing, so it鈥檚 nice to see.

鈥淚f it was in the summer and I was in my social mode, it鈥檇 be great, but so many of us are now so sleep-deprived after training and so focused on the race 鈥� they鈥檙e good, but we just feel a little bit out of our element maybe. It鈥檚 a lot of people and you鈥檙e just used to a lot of dogs. We鈥檙e used to the dogs that don鈥檛 talk but it is nice to see all the involvement though and all the fans out. It鈥檚 nice to see that there is the support.鈥�

McMahon was asked how he was feeling about the race.

鈥淎t this point, I鈥檓 surprised. I feel nice and calm, relaxed, ready to go. I double-checked, triple-checked everything. It鈥檚 where it should be and where it has to be. Just have a couple more decisions here and which dogs are gonna make the final choice here, so that鈥檚 starting to get a little bit bigger of a question. Time鈥檚 running out but it might be a parking lot decision.鈥�

The Polesky family, Kyle, Teri and Novak, 8, from Nakina, Ont., were also there to meet the mushers.

鈥淲e鈥檙e leaving tomorrow so it鈥檚 the only day I can meet them,鈥� said an obviously excited Novak.

The Poleskys have been in the Yukon two weeks. Teri had run the 100 mile Yukon Ultra to Braeburn.

鈥淲e stayed at Muktuk (Kennels) for half a week,鈥� related Kyle. 鈥淲e also took part in the dogsledding from the lodge. Just revelled in the northern lifestyle here; enjoyed every little bit of it. Once we knew we had a chance to come here to meet the mushers, we came down. We have a new appreciation for the passion and how much work goes into it.鈥�

Teri said 鈥淚t was incredible to be on the trail that they were going to be running the dogs on as well.鈥�

She finished her Ultra 100 in 43 hours.

鈥淩eally good trail this year, good weather. Way better than last year.鈥�

Teri stopped at 87 miles last year due to the poor trail conditions.

鈥淟ots of snow. It was wet, heavy snow, so it was tough going.鈥�

Teri plans to run the Ultra again next year.

Ryan added, 鈥淲e鈥檒l be back again. We love it here. You can鈥檛 beat Whitehorse.鈥�