Jada Lippincott grew up in Fairfield, Iowa (population 10,000, not a lot to do) and did not hike a single meaningful mile until a semester abroad in Fairbanks taught her what the outdoors actually was. Then she moved to Big Sky for a guiding internship, shattered her leg in a snowboarding crash, spent eight weeks bedridden and furious, found a YouTube video about long-distance hiking, and walked out of her boot three days later to start the Arizona Trail. She limped the whole way. She has not stopped moving since. This episode covers how an Iowa kid with no outdoor background discovered trail culture, found her people, and built a life at 27 that most outdoor athletes three times her age couldn't sustain, all out of a Toyota Tundra with a 50-pound shelter dog who knows how to hold still when a grizzly bear crosses the trail five feet in front of her. It also covers the Colorado hut trip that landed her in a helicopter with a face swollen shut and frostbite down her leg, and the tattoo she got on the Arizona Trail that sums up everything she does: your time is limited. The full interview with Flo drops Wednesday in two parts on the Hiker Trash Radio feed.

Show Notes

About the Guest


Jada "Flo" Lippincott is a 27-year-old thru-hiker, splitboarder, canyoneer, packrafter, and full-time truck dweller based in Big Sky, Montana. Originally from Fairfield, Iowa, she discovered the outdoors through a college exchange semester in Fairbanks, Alaska and found long-distance hiking after a catastrophic snowboarding accident that shattered her leg. Three days out of her walking boot, she boarded a plane to Arizona and started the Arizona Trail. She has since logged over 9,000 miles across the CDT, Arizona Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail, Great Divide Trail (Canada), Hayduke Trail, Colorado Trail, and Sierra High Route (partial), all while living out of a 2009 Toyota Tundra with her 50-pound shelter dog, Indy (trail name: Roadblock). She has a tattoo on her leg that reads: Your time is limited.

Episode Highlights


The Trail Name — There Goes Flo

The Origin — Iowa to Alaska to Trail


The Broken Leg Origin Story


The Frostbite Hut Trip


Roadblock's Grizzly Encounter


Your Time Is Limited


Trail Wisdom — You Either Keep Moving or You Die


Links & Resources



  • Flo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whereisjadaa

  • Desert Solitaire — Edward Abbey. Flo's top desert book recommendation.

  • The Adventure Son — Roman Dial. Memoir of the godfather of packrafting in Alaska.

  • Tracks — Robyn Davidson. Real-life story of trekking across Australia in 1977.

  • The Dark Wizard — HBO Max documentary about Dean Potter.

  • Valley Uprising — Documentary about rock climbers in Yosemite.

  • Edge of the Unknown — Jimmy Chin documentary series.

  • Real Survival Stories — Podcast. Stories of people nearly dying in the outdoors.

  • Greg MacCannan — YouTube. Currently cycling from Alaska to Argentina, four years in.

  • The Wilderness Society: https://www.wilderness.org

  • Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners: https://www.gsenm.org


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The full interview with Flo drops Wednesday in two parts. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it takes 60 seconds and makes a real difference.

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