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Yesterday’s rain served up a big bump on today’s river run

Yesterday’s rain served up a big bump on today’s river run

by | May 13, 2020 | Blog

Jimmy Harvey paddles down the Colorado River between Bastrop and Smithville on Wednesday, May 15. Tuesday’s storms upped the river flow. Pam LeBlanc photo


Yesterday’s rains gave me and veteran paddler Jimmy Harvey a nice push down the Colorado River today.
Jimmy loaned me a one-man racing canoe and he climbed into his Epic kayak for the 25-mile trip from Fisherman’s Park in Bastrop to the Highway 230 Bridge in Smithville, highlighted by a snake encounter, collapsing riverbanks, huge birds and more.
I’m working on getting my paddling legs back. Nearly a year has passed since the 2019 Texas Water Safari, a 260-mile race from San Marcos to Seadrift on the Texas Coast. Memories of the sore butt, the log jams, the hordes of spiders and hallucinations haven’t quite faded, but today’s run reminded me how much I love the river and the paddling community.

Jimmy Harvey paddles past some trees twisted and torn in Tuesday’s storms. Pam LeBlanc photo


Flow hovered between 4,500 and 4,800 cubic feet per second along the way – almost triple Tuesday’s flow rates. That made it a relatively quick, four-and-a-half-hour excursion.
We stopped for a pee break at a little spot Jimmy jokingly called Snake Island. I scrambled out for my break, and when I climbed back in my boat I nearly paddled over the top of a glistening water moccasin napping in the reeds.
About midway through the run, we spotted a hassock-sized bundle of sticks in the top of a dead tree along the bank. A few minutes later, a bald eagle flapped past. We’d apparently seen its nest.
And as we approached Smithville, we noticed a bunch of trees, some knocked over, others with huge limbs twisted and torn. A tornado reportedly swept through the area yesterday; this must have been damage from the winds.
We also saw blue herons and soft-shelled turtles, mooing cows and red dirt banks, including a portion of one that buckled and slid into the water as we paddled past.

Jimmy Harvey gives me a little advice as we put in at Fisherman’s Park on Wednesday. Pam LeBlanc photo


The best part, though? When Jimmy called me over and told me to stop for a moment.
“Put your paddle down,” he said. “You can’t hear any human noises. Just the wind, the river and the birds.”

And that’s why I can’t wait to get back out there.

I paddled Jimmy’s one-man Landick racing canoe for the trip. Jimmy Harvey photo

About Pam

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Back in the canoe, ready for a long(ish) run

Back in the canoe, ready for a long(ish) run

by | May 11, 2020 | Blog

I took Jimmy Harvey’s Landick one-person canoe out for a test run on Lady Bird Lake today. Photo by Jimmy Harvey


I’m getting back in the boat this week to do some research for an upcoming magazine article.
I’ll be paddling about 26 miles from Fisherman’s Park in Bastrop to Smithville, but it’s been a few months since I’ve spent time in a boat. Also, now’s not the time to paddle a tandem (there’s that whole social distancing deal), so I’m borrowing a solo boat from veteran paddler Jimmy Harvey, who has raced the grueling Texas Water Safari more times than I can wrap my brain around. (I did the race for the first time last year and still can’t believe I survived the 260-mile gauntlet of log jams, alligator gar, mud and mayflies.)

Jimmy Harvey is part of the Arctic Cowboys team of paddlers from Austin, who will be paddling up the Texas coast in a few weeks. Pam LeBlanc photo

I met Jimmy down at Lake Austin today, to take his boat out for a spin. I wondered if the sleek-looking Landick racing canoe might toss me like a bucking bronco, but I managed to stay dry. I also discovered that the boat, despite its narrow front half, swells like a curvy woman at the hips, so it can tip really far without dumping its driver (me.)
The boat’s got a rudder, too, which makes it super easy to steer. I made two laps – one with a single blade, another with the dreaded shoulder-busting double. The boat felt nimble and I didn’t run over anyone, so it’s all systems go for Wednesday’s longer run.
I’m packing a lunch, my camera gear, a cowboy hat and lots of energy, and looking forward to seeing a stretch of the Colorado River I’ve never paddled.
Adventure in the time of a pandemic tastes all the sweeter.

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Maudie’s Moonlight Margarita Run goes virtual – and the trail will remain one-way at least through May

Maudie’s Moonlight Margarita Run goes virtual – and the trail will remain one-way at least through May

by | May 6, 2020 | Blog

That’s me, posing with an unidentified runner, at the 2018 Moonlight Margarita Run. This year’s race is going virtual. Photo from 2018 race by Chris LeBlanc


The Trail Foundation’s biggest fund-raiser of the year, the Maudie’s Moonlight Margarita Run, is going virtual.

That means you can run the 5K race on your own time, wherever you want. The party half of the event will take place in October, and everyone who registers and runs the virtual race now will get a couple of free drinks then.
“Apart but together we can still celebrate the Trail while keeping our city safe,” said Heidi Anderson, director of The Trail Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to maintain and improve the beloved 10-mile Butler Hike and Bike Trail around Lady Bird Lake. “The Trail Foundation is grateful to everyone who is registering and supporting our efforts to ensure the Trail is in the best condition possible, even during these unprecedented times.”
These unprecedented times, in case you haven’t heard, have meant a temporary conversion of the Butler Trail to a one-way route. People are discouraged from using the trail at all right now, because it’s difficult to maintain a 6-foot social distance on narrow stretches of the pathway, but asked to travel clockwise if they choose to do so.
“The trail, at the Austin Parks and Recreation Department’s direction, will remain one-way at least through the end of May, and then they will re-evaluate,” Anderson said. “Our counters actually show that the majority of folks are complying. Depending on the day, between 75 and 85 percent of folks are moving clockwise.”
In the meantime, the one-way signs that were put up a few weeks ago are still disappearing. Another round of signs to replace them will go up today and Thursday. (Seriously, folks. Leave the signs alone. It’s a waste for the foundation to use its donations to keep replacing signs torn down, thrown away or swiped as souvenirs.)
As for the race, once you register online at https://eventdog.com/a/eventpage.php?eID=31787&refData=website, the foundation will send you links to create a virtual bib and submit your results. Everyone who signs up gets a T-shirt, and the first 700 will get a $10 Maudie’s Tex-Mex gift card.
You can run or walk any route you choose – on road, trail, treadmill or track – as many times as you want between June 4 (that’s the day after Global Running Day) and July 4. Send in your best time to compete against other virtual participants.
I try to do the race every year. I love the combination of fun and food, and the festive, outdoor atmosphere. I hope to see you at the October party.

About Pam

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I’ve got a publication date for my Bamberger book!

I’ve got a publication date for my Bamberger book!

by | May 5, 2020 | Blog

This page in the TAMU Press catalog mentions my upcoming book, which has been delayed due to the coronavirus.

I’ve got a new book publication date. Let’s hope it sticks.

“My Stories, All True,” my upcoming book about land conservationist J. David Bamberger, should be in my hands in four months. The official release date, according to my editors at Texas A&M University Press, is Sept. 22.

I should have been cradling my first copies by now, but, you know, coronavirus. The book is being printed in China.

Maybe I’m lucky. If the book had arrived in April as planned, I’d be stuck with a bunch of cartons of books and shuttered bookstores. I couldn’t hold a book signing or make the rounds with Bamberger, 92, to share some of his slightly tall tales.

I’m hoping that by September, bookstores will reopen, and it’ll be safe for Bamberger and me to hold a few book readings. We’ll see.

Bamberger grew up poor, became a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman, went on to make a fortune as one of the founders of Church’s Fried Chicken, then tackled his life’s work – land conservation. He bought what he perceived to be the most worn-out, used-up piece of land in Blanco County and set to work removing invasive species and nurturing the land.

Today Selah, his more than 5,000-acre ranch south of Johnson City, serves as a lab for people who want to learn how to revive their own land. He holds seminars and gives tours, and students and scientists conduct research out of a new education center there.

I started working on the book about three years ago, when Bamberger would invite me to the ranch and recount stories from his life.

It’s been a long haul. I can’t wait to hold it in my hands.

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Can sustainably-caught tuna fuel an Arctic expedition?

Can sustainably-caught tuna fuel an Arctic expedition?

by | May 4, 2020 | Blog

Safe Catch mailed me a couple of boxes of tuna and salmon packets to test. West Hansen photo

I care about fish and sustainability. I’m an avid scuba diver, and something about seeing fish in the wild makes the need to protect our wild fish populations personal for me.
I’m normally not a huge fan of the taste of canned tuna or salmon, but when Safe Catch, a company that uses environmentally sensible practices to catch the fish it packages and sells, contacted me to see if I’d test out their product, I wanted some local paddlers who are training for an expedition I’m involved with to try it.
West Hansen, leader of the Arctic Cowboys, accepted a box of the 2.6-ounce packets – an assortment of citrus pepper wild tuna, garlic herb wild tuna, chili lime wild tuna, Cajun wild tuna, elite wild tuna and citrus dill wild Pacific pink salmon. He ate a lot of tuna on his 2012 expedition down the Amazon River, and I wondered if the food might work for his upcoming 60-day kayaking expedition through the Northwest Passage. That adventure will take the team (and me) through orca- and polar bear-populated areas.

The Arctic Cowboys will need calorie dense, high protein food for their kayaking expedition through the Northwest Passage. West Hansen photo


The fish comes sealed in single-serving pouches, each with 21 to 24 grams of protein. They’re good for up to two years on pantry shelves.
“All equally great,” Hansen said after trying it out. He’s sometimes (but not always) a minimalist when it comes to words, and trying to drag out a little more description turned into an exercise of futility this time.
“They’re good. Convenient. A good source of protein. For our needs, though, the weight-to-calorie ratio may not be what we need. We need something more calorie dense.”
Also, he said it’s “too much to open and use a fork” while paddling. (I think ditching the utensil and tearing and squeezing the pouch into your mouth might work, but maybe my thumbs are more flexible then Hansen’s.)
Hansen went on to explain that taste doesn’t matter much to him, although he will argue until the end of time that a burger grilled over charcoal is far superior to one cooked on a gas grill.
“I’ve got low standards when it comes to taste,” he said. “I don’t care that much. Put (the Safe Catch) side by side with Chicken of the Sea and I’d choose it. I do like the fact that they put effort into making sure it’s more ethically sourced. I would like all fish companies to do what they do.”
I checked the Safe Catch website, which notes that the company supports the creation of new marine protected areas and donates to ocean conservation groups. The tuna and salmon packets sell for $35.99 for a 12-pack of 2.6-ounce pouches at www.safecatch.com.
Also, I learned that Safe Catch tests all its fish for mercury content, and its purity standards are higher than other companies. It sources its fish from fisheries that use sustainable fishing methods, doesn’t buy fish from boats that use fish aggregating devices, and only buys fish that comes with a certificate stating the catch was monitored by an independent observer.
Just one thing I’m wondering before the Arctic Express crew decides if it will bring some Safe Catch along – does it chum up polar bears and orca?

About Pam

I’m Pam LeBlanc. Follow my blog to keep up with the best in outdoor travel and adventure. Thanks for visiting my site.

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