In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Minus33, we are joined by Badger’s pal, Billy Widmer.  In addition to being The Trek's go-to tech guru, Billy has an accomplished backpacking resume that includes an AT thru-hike, a lot of trekking through his native lands of New York, and a recent and very unorthodox thru-hike of the Arizona Trail.  The conversation spins off in a predictably tangential fashion, where we talk about web 3.0, the blockchain, and the mental health impacts of 100% remote work.

We wrap the show with a triple crown of ways to stave off the winter blues and the news of some recent bear activity near McAfee Knob on the AT.

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Interview with Billy Widmer 

Time stamps & Questions

00:04:13 - QOTD: What’s your death row meal? 

00:07:20 - Welcome Billy! 

00:07:52 - How did you get your trail name? 

00:08:44 - Is that your death row meal? 

00:09:00 - Were you always vegan in NY? 

00:09:35 - What’s your hiking background? 

00:10:24 - Was that your first long-distance hiking trip? 

00:10:48 - What have you been up to since the AT? 

00:12:07 - When did you do the Uinta Highline? 

00:12:22 - Give us the rundown on that! 

00:12:56 - Does Utah get similar weather too Colorado? 

00:13:41 - Why did you choose eastbound?

00:14:10 - Is there a logistical reason why people go one way versus another? 

00:14:26 - How much of it is trailed? 

00:15:00 - Is there a specific difference between the East terrain and West terrain? 

00:15:56 - For someone interested in the Uinta Highline, do you have any prep advice? 

00:17:14 - What is the Nolan’s 14? 

00:18:07 - Do you have to complete it in a certain amount of time? 

00:18:26 - How many people have done it within 60 hours?

00:18:56 - What went wrong in your attempt? 

00:19:57 - Did you give yourself checkpoints for pacing?

00:21:11 - What Mt. Elbert the first 14er you ever did? 

00:21:28 - Would you make another attempt? 

00:21:44 - Did you do Capitol Peak? 

00:22:28 - What is it like going over the knife’s edge on Capitol Peak? 

00:23:18 - Chaunce, would you do Capitol Peak? 

00:24:19 - Have you done any other 14ers that rival Capitol Peak? 

00:24:51 - How does that compare to climbing in Yosemite? 

00:25:15 - What’s the most intense climbing you’ve done? 

00:26:12 - Where did your idea for the AZT come from? 

00:28:30 - Because of the water access, did your route work for you? 

00:29:39 - What was your timeframe for hiking the AZT?

00:30:35 - Was it a fairly solo journey? 

00:31:07 - Does your mind start playing tricks on you?

00:32:16 - What was the wildlife like? 

00:33:24 - Do bites happen regularly?

00:34:53 - Any other wildlife encounters? 

00:35:07 - What is a Gila monster?

00:35:50 - Are they endangered or just good at hiding?

00:36:02 - Do they bite? 

00:36:33 - How long did it take you to hike the AZT?

00:37:43 - What was your average daily mileage? 

00:38:01 - How does the AZT compare to the AT? 

00:38:58 - Would you do it again?

00:39:33 - Did you encounter ridiculously hot days? 

00:39:58 - Were you hiking in the evenings at all? 

00:40:22 - Did you become the Guthook/Far Out hero?

00:41:11 - Any other notable highlights/lowlights from the AZT? 

00:42:17 - Do you wish you would have picked a longer trail? 

00:45:24 - As a vegan, what do you eat on trail? 

00:48:11- What do you like about working for Zach? 

00:48:55 - What do you hate about working for Zach? 

00:50:27 - What has your career path looked like? 

00:52:12 - Is it accurate that other companies try to lure you in with benefits or perks?

00:54:08 - What’s Chaunce’s candy count so far? 

00:55:02 - How do you get started in the tech world? 

00:55:40 - Is there a specific programming language someone should start with?

00:56:14 - Do you need to be proficient in math to be a good developer? 

00:57:30 - What is web 3.0?

01:00:40 - It decentralizes everything right? 

01:01:10 - What is proof of concept? 

01:02:29 - What is a “block”?

01:04:11 - Do you believe this is the future of universal currency? 

01:05:42 - What’s an NFT and is Zach one? 

01:09:56 - You mentioned you think everything will be digital. What would a digital world look like? 

01:11:03 - Do people think it’s bad that things will all become digital? 

01:14:02 - How do you feel about remote work?

01:19:26 - What’s your major fuck up at The Trek? 

01:21:50 - What’s on your outdoor bucket list for the next year? 

SEGMENTS

Trek Propaganda 

• How I Managed Chronic Depression on my AT Thru-Hike by Sarah Wolfson
• Bear Activity Near McAfee Knob by Kelly Floro

Triple crown of ways to fight off the Winter Blues

Thank you again too Minus33! 

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