JUMP with Traveling Jackie

José Gonzalez, founder of Latino Outdoors and fellow Osprey ambassador, joins Jackie for a rich and deeply thoughtful conversation about identity, belonging, culture, and finding your place outside.  José shares his story of immigrating from Mexico to the U.S., the layered meanings behind identifying as Mexican, Latino, Chicano, and Hispanic, and how those roots shaped his work in creating Latino...

Jackie sits down with James Edward Mills, fellow Osprey ambassador, freelance journalist, National Geographic Explorer, and creator of the Joy Trip Project, for a wide-ranging conversation about building an adventurous life on purpose.  James shares how a childhood in Los Angeles, a job at REI, an unexpected career with The North Face, and a life-changing pivot after 9/11 led him into journalism a...

What if putting down roots could actually set you free?  In this deeply personal solo episode, Jackie celebrates buying her first house and takes us through nearly a decade of reflections on home, belonging, freedom, and life as a long-term traveler. Through four essays and the recurring symbol of a rice cooker, she shares how her relationship with possessions, stability, Montana, and the idea of...

What happens when you can’t find the community you’re looking for? For Cassidy VanOrden, the answer was simple: create it. In this episode, Jackie sits down with Cassidy, founder of Girl Get After It, a women-focused community built around outdoor adventure, movement, trying new things, and making real friendships as adults. Cassidy shares the story behind Girl Get After It, from growing up in a t...

Karla Amador, founder of the 52 Hike Challenge, joins Jackie to share the deeply personal story behind a movement that has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to get outside. After becoming a mom at 17, navigating a young marriage, and later going through a painful divorce, Karla found herself in a dark season where hiking became a path toward healing, strength, and self-trust. What started a...

What if you stopped waiting to feel ready and just started pedaling?  In this episode, Jackie sits down with Hana Black, a New Zealand cyclist and guide who, together with her partner Mark, bikepacked from Alaska all the way to Ushuaia, Argentina, covering roughly 32,000 miles through 16 countries over more than four years. Hana shares how a quiet dream became a life-shaping quest, what it actuall...

What happens when the life you’ve built no longer feels like the life that fits? In this heartfelt conversation, Jackie sits down with guest Jackie Flood for an honest look at what it means to trust yourself enough to make a major change. Jackie Flood shares her journey from suburban Detroit and years in corporate life to making the bold decision to sell her house, leave her job, begin training as...

What happens when you know you’re meant for more, but comfort has quietly started to win? In this different kind of episode, Jackie sits down with her friend Walker Smith for an honest, unscripted conversation about being at a crossroads. Walker shares how a childhood spent traveling the world shaped his perspective from an early age, why hospitality and human connection still drive his curiosity,...

What happens when you combine one of the wildest road trips on Earth with local knowledge and a spirit of adventure? Jackie sits down with Chilean travel expert Christian Morrison, founder of EcoChile, to explore the magic of traveling through Chile and Argentina. From childhood stories of Patagonia and unforgettable nights on a penguin-filled island to driving the legendary Carretera Austral thro...

What if quitting your job led you to discover one of the most famous mountains in the world?  In this episode, Jackie sits down with LeAnn Morris, co-founder of Flashpacker Connect, to share the wild story of how a year-long leap into travel took her from banking in the U.S. to hiking deep in the Peruvian Andes—where she and her husband stumbled upon what would soon become known as Rainbow Mountai...

What happens when a long-term nomadic traveler rescues a dog and decides not to slow down, but to bring him along?  Jackie sits down with travel writer and digital nomad Lora Pope to talk about building a life abroad, navigating burnout, and how one tiny pug named Puglo completely reshaped her journey. From backpacking solo across the world to creating a home base in Mexico, traveling through 16 c...

What happens when you stop chasing the forecast and start listening to yourself? Jackie sits down with longtime meteorologist turned global traveler Jennifer Broome for a deeply honest conversation about curiosity, courage, and choosing a new direction when life shifts beneath your feet. From breaking glass ceilings in broadcast news to reporting from unforgettable places around the world, Jennife...

What if the thing you love most could become your passport to the world?  Jackie sits down with ice hockey coach Pete Kamman to explore how following a personal passion can lead to deeper, more meaningful travel experiences. Pete shares how hockey has shaped his life, from growing up in the Midwest to coaching in Montana and eventually taking his work across the globe. He reflects on living and co...

What happens when you finally say yes to the idea that won’t leave you alone, only to discover it isn’t meant to last forever? In this candid conversation, Jackie sits down with Carley to reflect on her eight months living in France, from the thrill of arrival to the quieter challenges that surfaced once the novelty wore off. Carley shares what it really looked like to build a life abroad without...

In this special solo episode closing out 2025 and celebrating episode 200 of JUMP, Jackie reflects on a year of travel, growth, and big transitions. Recorded alongside a real-time sunrise over Edinburgh Castle, she shares three lessons from her final JUMP Adventures trip of the year to Peru, including why the in-between moments matter more than landmarks, how taking the road less traveled deepens...

What does it really take to build great adventure gear, and what does packing look like for the people designing it? In this energizing conversation, Jackie sits down with longtime friend and colleague Vince Mazzuca, Osprey's Category Director for Technical Products, to explore how Osprey creates the packs we trust on the trail, on the road, and in the unknown. Vince shares his journey from gr...

What if travel could become even more meaningful simply by bringing more of yourself into it? In this wide-ranging and heartfelt conversation, Jackie sits down with trail runner, storyteller, and adventure-driven creative Alex Sanchez , whom she met on a magical trail-running Day of Adventure in Patagonia during the Adventure Travel World Summit. What started as a chance encounter on a bus turned...

What if the key to rediscovering joy, connection, and hope in humanity was as simple as slowing down? Join Jackie as she sits down with adventurer, filmmaker, and lifelong bike advocate Ryan Van Duzer, whose life on two wheels has become a mission to inspire connection, sustainability, and joy through travel. From his early vow at age eight to never own a car to his incredible ride home from the P...

What does it mean to truly belong to Rapa Nui? In this second and final part of Jackie’s immersive Easter Island experience, she sits down with local guide Tokerau to uncover the living culture behind the island’s iconic statues. From ancestry and family stories to the protected laws that keep multinational corporations off the island, this episode reveals how Rapa Nui’s people continue to preserv...

What if the stone statues could actually see you? On Rapa Nui, the moai “came alive” only when coral-and-obsidian eyes were set in place—turning carved stone into guardians watching over their people. In this immersive audio tour, Jackie takes you across Easter Island’s windswept platforms, quarries, and coastal vistas to decode the moai: what they meant, how they were moved, and why most face inl...

What if sticking out your thumb on the side of the road turned into one of the most life-changing experiences of your journey? After completing the Great Divide Trail, Jada set out to hitchhike 500 miles back to Montana—and along the way, she discovered the power of trust, the kindness of strangers, and the unexpected magic that happens when you leave room for it. In this continuation of her story...

What if the accident that nearly ended you became the spark that set your life on fire? A snowboarding crash left Jada “Flo” bedridden—until she turned recovery into an 800-mile trek across Arizona that launched her into the world of long-distance trails. In this episode, we trace her journey from deserts to the Canadian Rockies and the lessons she’s learned about resilience, simplicity, and givin...

What if the biggest party on two wheels was happening in the middle of Iowa every summer—and you were invited? Cyclist Eric Whalen joins Jackie to share the magic of RAGBRAI, the week-long ride across the state that’s equal parts endurance, community, and carnival. From pies and slip-n-slides to costumes and late-night music, Eric reveals how this ride became a father-son tradition and why it’s on...

She was a corporate high-flyer who traded boardrooms for backcountry trails. After joining Jackie on the O Circuit in Patagonia—celebrating a sobriety milestone and conquering suspension bridges—Ginger Cooper came home and sold her house, quit her job, and built a life on her own terms. From solo camper van trips above the Arctic Circle to kayaking with beluga whales, her story is a joyful reminde...

She grew up watching her dad walk across the country—literally—from capital to capital. Decades later, Sherry Ott is finishing what he started… by bike. In this episode, Jackie sits down with the travel veteran (and six-time guest!) to talk about her latest quest: a cross-country cycling journey that’s equal parts tribute, personal challenge, and epic adventure. What began in the 80s with paper ma...