Brandon "Horsepower" Weis on the Calendar Year Triple Crown and Arizona Trail

In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek brought to you by Sawyer Products, we are joined by Brandon “Horsepower” Weis. With minimal prior backpacking experience, in 2021,  Brandon successfully completed the calendar year triple crown plus a thru-hike of the Arizona Trail. The next two years were not any more laid back, as he accrued more than 15,000 miles worth of backpacking over a three year span, including treks of the Benton MacKay Trail, Pinhoti, Oregon Desert Trail, Bigfoot Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail, Colorado Trail, Hayduke, and the Sheltowee Trace Trail. In addition to giving us an overview of these treks, Horsepower delights us with fun stories, including a terrifying encounter with a grizzly, sleeping in countless pit toilets, being asked to leave a restaurant due to his odor, accidentally drinking deet, and more.  We wrap the show with an overview of the first half of trail days, including how Badger is the world’s biggest moron, the triple crown of our short section hike on the AT, and how many drinks constitute drinking. Sawyer Products: Check out Sawyer’s Permethrin Pump at REI. Gossamer Gear: Use code “SNUGGLEBUG” for 20% off shelters at gossamergear.com.  LMNT: Get a free sample pack with any order at drinklmnt.com/trek. Shady Rays: Use code “TREK” for 50% off two or more pairs of sunglasses at shadyrays.com. [divider] Interview with Brandon “Horsepower” Weis Brandon's Instagram Brandon's Book Time stamps & Questions 00:07:30 - Reminders: Support us on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and suggest a guest for us to interview at PCT Days! 00:08:54 - Introducing Horsepower 00:09:40 - What’s your trail name origin story? 00:11:11 - What was your background in weight lifting prior to backpacking? 00:12:45 - Where did your interest in thru-hiking come from? 00:14:37 - How long were your section hikes prior to the CYTC? 00:14:55 - Tell us about being a big Lil Wayne fan 00:16:34 - Tell us about being a partier 00:18:26 - Tell us about deciding to hike the Calendar Year Triple Crown 00:20:29 - In what other ways have you gone all in on something you’re interested in? 00:22:21 - Tell us about starting the Calendar Year Triple Crown 00:24:30 - How much did your pack weigh when you started? 00:26:35 - Did you keep to a regular hiking schedule? 00:28:11 - At any point did you think it might not have been a good idea? 00:30:27 - Did you factor in zero days or town vortexes? 00:36:00 - What were your lowest points on the AT? 00:40:42 - What was your low point on the first CDT section? 00:43:47 - What drew you to The One tent? 00:44:28 - Discussion about switching over to the PCT 00:46:30 - Were you too tired to talk to other hikers? 00:47:08 - What were the high and low points on the PCT? 00:48:54 - How did you mitigate injuries? 00:50:52 - Tell us about your back injury 00:55:00 - Are you glad you have already done the Calendar Year Triple Crown? 00:56:02 - McDonalds bathroom story 00:57:44 - Too smelly to be in a restaurant story 00:58:36 - Was the AZT always the plan? 01:00:12 - Discussion about getting off the Buckeye Trail 01:01:00 - Burnt shoes story 01:03:10 - Pit toilet connoisseur  01:05:48 - Savage mice and rats 01:07:30 - Kind of maybe saved a guy’s life  01:09:10 - Held at nonthreatening knifepoint in a car  01:10:22 - Accidentally drinking DEET  01:10:53 - Accidentally holding a lovely couple hostage  01:12:26 - Hearing the song Roxanne 200 times in a night 01:15:30 - Tell us about going back to smaller trails after the CYTC 01:19:09 - Tell us about the Oregon Desert Trail 01:24:30 - Tell us about the Bigfoot Trail 01:30:48 - What’s your rationale for doing so many miles? 01:31:56 - Are you frugal when out on trail? 01:33:44 - What was your biggest pigout moment? 01:35:05 - What’s your favorite meal on trail? 01:36:37 - Eating so much peanut butter he became allergic 01:39:10 - Did you supplement at all on trail? 01:39:35 - Tell us about the Pacific Northwest Trail 01:48:15 - Plug your book! Segments Trek Propaganda: Authorities Investigating Fish Hooks Stuffed In Dog Treats Along Appalachian Trail by Ariella Nardizzi QOTD: How many drinks constitutes “drinking”? Triple Crown of moments from AT hiking One Minute Gear Reviews Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Check out our sound guy @my_boy_pauly/. Leave us a voicemail! Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!  Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support us on Patreon to get bonus content. Advertise on Backpacker Radio Follow The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and Trail Correspondents on Instagram. Follow Backpacker Radio, The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube. Follow Backpacker Radio on Tik Tok.  Our theme song is Walking Slow by Animal Years. A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Alex & Misty with Navigators Crafting, Andrew, Austen McDaniel, Austin Ford, Brad & Blair (Thirteen Adventures), Brent Stenberg, Bryan Alsop, Christopher Marshburn, Coach from Marion Outdoors, Dayne, Derek Koch, Eric Casper, Erik Hofmann, Gillian Daniels, Greg Knight, Greg McDaniel may he bring honor to his name, Hailey Buckingham, Liz Seger, Patrick Cianciolo, SPAM, Timothy Hahn, and Tracy “Trigger” Fawns. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: 12 Trees Farms, Bonnie Ackerman, David, Dcnerdlet, Emily Galusha, Jeanie, Jeanne Latshaw, Joann Menzer, Katharine Rudzitis, Keith Dobie Jr, Merle Watkins, Peter, and Ruth S.