I was halfway through a poop when I got my trail name… Now I’m hiking the Arizona trail

Hi, I’m Jeffry Leonard, a full-time travel nurse currently studying to become a nurse practitioner.

And this is the story of how a dozen strangers saw my naked butt in the California desert and accidentally gave me a name for life.

It was 2021, the early days of the Pacific Crest Trail.

It was somewhere near Eagle Rock, near Warner Springs, open pastures, no trees, no cover, just hills and exposure. Beautiful place until your body decides it’s time.

And I mean now.

You know the type. Backpacker meals, too much olive oil, questionable decisions. There was no negotiation. No «I’ll put up with it.» This was happening immediately.

So I did what every hiker has to do eventually.

I quickly dug a cat hole in the least exposed spot I could find, which was still very exposed, and dropped my backpack.

Then I crouched down.

And then people started showing up.

Complete exhibition

At first it was just one person.

Then two.

Then a group.

Then more.

It was Saturday, midday, with heavy traffic, and somehow I had chosen exactly the worst place and time in Southern California to have a very urgent and public moment.

That day a dozen people saw me.

Day hikers. Hikers section. My tram.

They all had a full, uninterrupted view of my pale, glistening buttocks under the desert sun.

At some point, you stop trying to hide.

You just commit.

And apparently, that’s when legends are born.

The birth of the full moon

Later that day, my friend Alexe looked at me and said

«Yes… you are Full Moon.»

No debate. Without ceremony. Instant agreement.

And just like that, my route name was blocked.

Trail names don’t care who you think you are. They care about what really happened.

And what happened was I drove half of the PCT crazy.

I honestly couldn’t argue with it.

Because that moment pretty much sums up a hike: messy, unpredictable, humiliating, and somehow still hilarious.

Why am I returning or maybe escaping

Right now I’m writing this from northern Quebec.

It is March 3, 2026.

It is 27°C below zero, which is approximately -17°F.

There is still 2-3 feet of snow everywhere.

The mornings are brutally cold. The kind of cold that hits you in the face instantly and makes you question every life decision that brought you here.

This winter has been hard. Blizzard after blizzard. Long shifts. Isolation. Darkness.

And honestly, I think I got to a point where I needed to get out.

So I did what made perfect sense at the time.

I decided almost impulsively to go hike the Arizona Trail heading north.

No real planning.

There is no perfect moment.

Just one decision.

To leave the cold. To move again. To feel something different.

Bad planning, good intentions

I wasn’t even supposed to be free.

I couldn’t extend my current contract in the north and instead of filling the void with something reasonable

I booked a full hike.

Exactly at the same time as my end of term exams.

Logistically it is not ideal.

It really is a disaster.

But also exactly the kind of challenge that appeals to me.

The plan if you can call it that

I will be starting the Arizona Trail on April 2nd.

An old friend, Primetime of the PCT Class of 2021, takes me to the far south.

From there, things get interesting.

I will have 12 days to cover approximately 300 miles and arrive in the Phoenix area by April 14.

Because

Because I have mock clinics.

So the plan is simple

walk fast
Get to Phoenix
take a zero
Doing life management, housework and my exam.
Then return to the trail

This will all be coordinated with Primetime, because without it this probably won’t work.

It’s tight. It’s chaotic. It could fall apart.

But that’s what makes it exciting.

Primetime and Fullmon, Pacific Crest Trail 2021

Living between two worlds

On one side is the path.

Miles, water carries, sun, simplicity.

On the other side is the school.

Deadlines. Exams. Responsibility.

Most people keep those worlds separate.

I’m about to smash them together.

There will be days when I study on earth, days when I will get tired of trying to concentrate, days when I will wonder why I thought this was a good idea.

But that’s the point.

To see what happens when you push both at the same time.

this blog

This space will be where you share everything.

the miles
the chaos
the good calls
the terrible

And probably a few more Full Moon type situations along the way.

Because if the PCT taught me anything, it is this

The plan is never the story.

The story is everything that happens when the plan falls apart.

See you out there

Soon I will be heading north on the Arizona Trail.

Leaving behind 27°C below zero, snow and winter.

Into heat, uncertainty, and more than 800 miles of desert.

With a pack, a questionable schedule, and a trail name I definitely didn’t choose.

The full moon has returned.