Local hiker returns home after completing 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail trek

Okay, I can see just the corner of Rainier and I want you to experience the first sighting of Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park as I'm seeing it. Keeping my eyes down right now because the bend is coming up and I'll show you. Three, two, one. Right on! Yeah, right on. That is Mount Rainier, and that's 29-year-old South Bay native Jordan Leffler getting his first glimpse of the 14,000-plus-foot Mount Rainier in Washington. Jordan just completed the Pacific Crest Trail 2,650-mile hike from Mexico to the Canadian border, 138 days and seven pairs of hiking shoes later. He's back in the Bay Area to tell the tale of one of the most challenging and beautiful hikes. And he joins me now. How are we doing, Jordan? Good morning, Frank. Thank you so much for having me. What's it been like being back? Well, you know, especially coming right off of trail, the first few days are just getting back, or getting used to the feeling of being in the city, so stuff like buses and dogs and just people walking, it's a little bit different. Yeah, I guess the sounds, you're in solitude up there. Yeah. Okay, we have a picture, if we can pull that up, it's you finishing in Canada after this four and a half month hike. What's going through your mind right there? Well, especially at the border, you know, it is an incredible feeling. They have flags and, you know, a trail log for you to... You know, to sign and share your well wishes, but also at that moment, I was also thinking about the 30-mile hike to get back to the nearest road to get picked up. Oh, you were done, so you had to hike out, right? Yeah, they don't tell you that, that you have to hike 30 miles just to finish after you finish. You thought you were done, but you weren't. Exactly. You weren't. What was the best part of the hike for you? You know, I think, especially being from the Bay Area, being close to the Sierra Nevada, I grew up going to Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and the fact that the Pacific Crest Crest Trail goes through all those national parks, being able to see To see the Sierra start to finish was truly magical. Yeah, and I think we've got some video of some of the pictures you took along the way. Talk about the beauty. That you witnessed in the Cascades, here you are hiking, and we'll show those photos in a minute. But Mount Adams, what's this? Oregon, Washington? Yeah, that's it. Mount Adams is early in Washington, and especially once you reach Oregon and Washington, you just start seeing all these massive volcanoes. And it's cool because you have a beautiful scenic view, and then in the distance you can see the next three or four volcanoes. So, you know, you're experiencing that moment, and it's beautiful, but you're also getting ready for what's coming up. Yeah. What did you learn? About yourself. Yeah. A lot of solitude, a lot of downtime at night going, what am I doing here? Yeah. You know, most of the hike, I did spend it entirely by myself, just solo hiking. You meet a lot of great, incredible people on the way. But I think in terms of what I really learned is just how resilient the body is. And especially after a couple weeks hiking, you develop what's called trail legs. And then your legs are strong enough to hike 20 to 25 miles every single day, back to back. It's unlike any feeling I've ever experienced. Take us through. Here's a couple of photos. Where are you there? That right there is Goat Rocks, and then that's Crater Lake, one of the national parks that the PCT goes through in Oregon. And it's just, the scenery is just so drastic, and it changes. It's very dramatic, and it really just feels like you're on the top of the world. And you became quite a photographer, because you had to set this up on a timer, right? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, because I was solo hiking, I had a tripod that I would get photos with, including this one. What was that? Here you are, Kenny. Kennedy Meadows up near Yosemite? Yeah, so that's right at the start. That's right at the beginning of the Sierra. So once you finish the desert section, about 700 miles, then you pop into Kennedy Meadows, and that's the beginning of the Sierra. What was the hardest part? Oh, the hardest part was, I think, the, I got stuck in a six-day rainstorm when I was in Oregon, and you're battling rain and snow, and you're trying to, the daytime temperatures are about 40 degrees, so I think it took a lot of mental fortitude to not only, you know, set up my stuff, but, you know, sleep the night and keep going and try to make a couple of miles in the rain. You saw a lot of wildlife up there. You had one encounter with a bear. Tell us that story. Yeah, actually, when I was in Crater Lake, it was funny. It was in the early morning and And I hear some sounds in the woods next to me, and I look in the trees about 40 feet up. There's this black bear staring at me, and, you know, we both kind of spooked each other. But, you know, luckily the bears out there, they're big, but they're scared of us, as they should be. There you go. So no big deal. No, no big deal. How about blisters, medical issues at all? Yeah, luckily... I didn't have too many bad medical issues that would have risked pulling me off trail. I definitely dealt with blisters, overuse injuries, especially as you hike 2,000 miles. As you get towards the end, your body feels the wear a little bit more. So it just takes a little bit more care and recovery. Best view of the trip. Oh, that's a hard one, Frank. Oh, I know. I mean, it's all gory. I know you love the Sierra. Yeah, most definitely. I think, for me, one of the most iconic is the highest point on the PCT. It's called Forrester Pass, and it's the border between Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park. You get to see just views in front of you and behind you, and it seems like it just goes for miles and just gigantic mountains. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Why did you do it, and what's next? Yeah, this is something that I've been wanting to do since I was 16, and, you know, being from the Bay Area, always going fishing and exploring in the Sierra Nevada, it just felt like the perfect thing to do, and I was so glad to be able to do it now, but in terms of what's next... I don't know, recovery first. How about food? Is it nice to, you know, get off Top Ramen and that kind of thing? Yeah, living off of Top Ramen for six months definitely takes a toll on you. So, you know, eating solid food and, you know, being able to go to restaurants whenever I want. But some parts of the trail you go through towns, right, where you can do laundry, get a cheeseburger. Is that right? Yeah, and you know, I think one of the most important things, especially as you're hiking 20 miles a day, you're burning a lot of calories. So whenever you're into town, it really is that opportunity to get as many calories as you can because it's almost impossible for you to get the right amount of calories. You told me a story off camera when you were in Washington about mice. They were very prevalent, apparently, up near Mount Rainier, is that right? Yeah, you asked me about any wildlife issues, and it wasn't danger, but mice ruled all the campgrounds. So every night, it was just a mission to protect your food and gear from getting bit by the mice. Yeah. So you had, they were looking for the food, right? Yeah. And you know, you'd hear them scatter around your tent all night and yeah, but you just got to make sure that you protect it. And late at night, would you just sit there and look, the stars must've been ridiculous up there. Yeah. It's, you know, it was, it was difficult to go to sleep, especially I got to catch a couple of meteor showers while I was out there too. So, you know, it's, it's hard to, you know, that you need to get the sleep to recover, but when you have a beautiful night like that. I know you quit your job to do this. Do you need a job? Your best pitch? What do you want to do? Yeah, you know, now that I'm back off trail, I'm, you know, getting adjusted to my life off trail, but, you know, I'm back in the job hunt. I do want to get back into marketing strategy, which is what I was doing before, working with brands, but are you guys looking for a new anchor? Well, you never know. I don't know about TV, if you want to go down that road. But what a pleasure. I followed you along on Instagram. What is your Instagram page again? My Instagram is at Jordy Trails. Check it out. He's got basically a video blog for almost every day he was on the trail. They're humorous. They're fun. You may have, I'll tell you what, you'd be a great editor and a great storyteller. I appreciate that. Jordan Leffler. Thank you so much. Awesome job. Congratulations. Thank you.