My Mountain Hardwear down pants are the bomb – thanks to a Greylag goose in China

My Mountain Hardwear down pants are the bomb – thanks to a Greylag goose in China

Mountain Hardwear down pants

I love these new Stretchdown pants by Mountain Hardwear. Self-timer photo by Pam LeBlanc

First let me say I love the new slate blue insulated pants that Mountain Hardwear sent me to test drive.

They’re light. They’re fluffy. They’re slightly stretchy, yet oh so strong.

I tugged on the pants, which you might mistake for a down jacket, when I woke up to 48-degree temperatures last weekend while staying in Vincent VanGo, my campervan, at Seminole Canyon State Park. I slipped them on in the morning, when I got up to heat water for hot tea.

In a word, yum. Pulling on these pants felt like curling up in a bird’s nest lined with clouds, whipped cream, and silk.

Truthfully, I didn’t expect to love them. Who wants puffy pants? The Stay Pufft marshmallow man?

I was wrong.

Read more: What’s biltong? A less sweet, higher protein type of beef jerky

I’ll wear these pants on cold mornings when I’m camping. I might even wear them around the house on really cold days. They’d have come in handy during Snowpocalypse in Austin last February.

But I’m still chuckling, because the $250 pants came with an RDS – that’s Responsible Down Standard – tag to reassure me about the contents of the fill. Curious, I logged into the www.trackmydown.com website and typed in the lot number on the tag. Within seconds, I knew everything about the exact batch of down that was used to craft my puffers.

What are my Mountain Hardwear down pants filled with?

Mountain Hardwear down pants

These slightly stretchy down pants are perfect for camping. Pam LeBlanc photo

My pants, it turns out, were made with down from grey goose in China. The down was a byproduct of the food industry. The geese in question were Greylag geese, which are larger than ducks, and therefore grow larger down clusters.

It all reminded me of the episode of “Portlandia” in which a couple visits a restaurant and asks about the organic chicken on the menu. The waitress shows them paperwork with the chicken’s name (Colin) and the farm where it lived.

“They do a lot to make sure their chickens are happy,” the waitress clucks.

My down-filled pants have two hand pockets, one hidden zippered coin pocket, and elastic bands at the cuff. I’m not sure the name of the grey goose that contributed the fluff that fills them, but I certainly appreciate the animal, and I’m glad it was raised under strict animal welfare standards.

You can buy your own pair at REI or online at www.mountainhardwear.com.

 

 

 

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Free park admission on Nov. 14

Free park admission on Nov. 14

McKinney Falls

Visitors wade in the river at McKinney Falls State Park in August 2021. Pam LeBlanc photo

Heads up, park junkies.

Daily entrance fees at all Texas state parks will be waived on Sunday, Nov. 14, to commemorate Veterans Day.

Not sure where to go? We love Inks Lake State Park, Garner State Park , McKinney Falls State Park and more.

“The dedication, sacrifice and service displayed by the women and men that serve in our country’s military is unparalleled and is a source of pride throughout the country,” said Rodney Franklin, director of Texas State Parks. “Their commitment to service undoubtedly inspires us at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. To celebrate their service, Texas State Parks would like to once again invite everyone to spend the day at any one of our beautiful State Parks for free.  I am glad that we are able to encourage families to get outside in honor of our veterans.”

chris at McKinney Falls

Chris LeBlanc rests on the knees of an old cypress tree at McKinney Falls State Park. Pam LeBlanc photo

If you plan to visit a park on Nov. 14 (or any other day), reserve a day pass in advance, because some sites will reach capacity. To make reservations go here or (512) 389-8900.

And one more thing. When you buy a hunting and fishing license, you can make a $1, $5, $10 or $20 donation to the Veterans Commission’sVeterans Assistance Fund. Donations help fund grants to veteran service organizations and nonprofit charitable institutions that assist veterans and their families at the community level throughout Texas.

About Pam

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ThunderCloud Subs Turkey Trot set for Thanksgiving Day

ThunderCloud Subs Turkey Trot set for Thanksgiving Day

Pam LeBlanc nears the finish of the 2019 ThunderCloud Subs Turkey Trot. Chris LeBlanc photo[/caption]

Turkeys, prepare to trot!

This year’s Thundercloud Subs Turkey Trot goes live again, with both a virtual and an in-person race on Thursday, Nov. 25. Specific details and safety protocols approved by Austin Public Health will be announced as the date gets closer. Register and find more information at thundercloud.com.

Participants can choose from a 5-mile timed or non-timed run, a 1-mile walk or a Kids K. The Stepping Stone School Kids K begins at 8:45 a.m., followed by the timed 5-mile at 9:30 a.m., the untimed run at 9:35 a.m., and the 1-mile walk/run at 9:50 a.m. Registration ranges from $12 for the Kids K to $32 for the timed 5-mile run. Prices increase after Nov. 14. Registrants get either a long-sleeved T-shirt or a $10 gift card to ThunderCloud Subs, a Trot headband and wristbands, or a bandana.

I run the race every year. Last year, that meant trotting around the Allandale neighborhood with my husband and two friends for the virtual event.

virtual Turkey Trot Andrew Lochbaum, Pam Finney, Pam LeBlanc and Chris LeBlanc at the start of their 2020 virtual Turkey Trot. Chris LeBlanc self timer photo[/caption]

Organizers say because the 2020 Trot went so well, they’ll keep a virtual component this year and beyond. Virtual participants can run or walk wherever they want on Thanksgiving Day.

Turkey Trot benefits Caritas of Austin

All proceeds of the event go to Caritas of Austin, which has received $4.4 million dollars from the Trot since it began in 1991.

“Caritas of Austin needs our support more than ever, to continue helping thousands of people to get off the streets, realize their full potential, and contribute to our community,” says Mike Haggerty, co-owner of ThunderCloud and executive director of the Trot.

Caritas broke ground on its first ever residential center this year, Espero Rutland, which will have 171 studio apartments and supportive services.

Turkey Trot A turkey leads off the start of the 2019 ThunderCloud Subs Turkey Trot. Chris LeBlanc photo[/caption]

Socially distanced packet pickup will be offered on multiple dates at First Texas Honda, or packets can be shipped for an extra charge. The dealership will also donate a new Honda Accord for the Trot raffle ($25 per ticket or five tickets for $100. Tickets can be purchased online or at packet pickup between now and Thanksgiving Day.

 

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The best 10 things about rafting the Grand Canyon

The best 10 things about rafting the Grand Canyon

Pam LeBlanc enjoys the view from above Bass Camp in the Grand Canyon. Photo by Mollie Binion

Rafting the Grand Canyon means big water, scenery that scrolls past like the backdrop of an exotic movie, never-ending geology lessons, and, if you do it right, plenty of fun.

I just returned from Arizona, where I backpacked from the South Rim to the Colorado River to meet a passing group of friends who were doing what’s called a “painless private” trip. They hired outfitter PRO (Professional River Outfitters) to provide 18-foot rubber rafts, a kitchen set-up, a groover (essentially an ammo can with a toilet seat attached for human waste), dry bags and food for the three-week trip.

Mollie Binion watches as her son Peyton mans the oars during a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. Pam LeBlanc photo

I jumped on for the final two weeks of the adventure. We supplied our manpower and camping gear, and did our own rigging, rowing, loading and unloading, and cooking.

Here are my favorite things about the trip. Look for a complete story soon in Austin Travels Magazine at www.austintravels.com.

Jimmy Harvey rows through Crystal Rapid. Pam LeBlanc photo

Top 10 things about rafting the Grand Canyon

  1. Unplugging from technology.

Jimmy Harvey jumps into a pool in a side canyon of the Grand Canyon. Pam LeBlanc photo

2. Hiking up slot canyons, through streams and into magical pools of water. We even made a “butt dam” in one narrow rivulet – lining up bottom to bottom to back up the water for a few minutes, then standing up to watch the mini flash flood we’d created.

Peyton Manning, Steffen Saustrup and Jimmy Harvey play dominoes. Pam LeBlanc photo

3. Playing dominoes on a sandy beach at the end of a fine day of rafting.

4. Reading “Robinson Crusoe.”

5. Taking the oars for short stretches and trying to figure out how to make the raft go where I wanted.

Charlie Riou blasts through Lava Rapid. Pam LeBlanc photo

6. Sipping bourbon and watching shooting stars with some of my favorite people every night.

7. Sleeping in a tent, in one of the prettiest places on the planet.

rafting the grand canyon

Mollie Binion mans the oars during a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. Pam LeBlanc photo

8. Eating amazing meals – burgers, curry, pasta, quesadillas – cooked in our portable kitchen.

9. Blasting through some of the biggest rapids I’ve ever seen, and only getting tossed out of the boat once.

Mark Poindexter and Leslie Reuter mud wrestling on the banks of the Colorado River in the Rio Grande. Pam LeBlanc photo

10. Impromptu mud wrestling matches.

 

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Ten miles from finish of Great Alabama 650, Hansen forced ashore by wind and chop

Ten miles from finish of Great Alabama 650, Hansen forced ashore by wind and chop

Hansen sleeping Alabama

West Hansen naps on the side of the river. He’s currently holed up in a different spot, 10 miles from the finish of the Great Alabama 650, waiting for bay conditions to improve. Barbara Hansen Edington photo

Austin paddler West Hansen pulled ashore about 10 miles from the finish of the Great Alabama 650 Thursday afternoon, and at 9 p.m. he was still hunkered down, waiting for conditions to improve in Mobile Bay.

A small craft advisory was in effect, and winds were 17 miles per hour. Hansen’s support crew said he likely would wait until morning to cover the final miles to Fort Morgan.

Despite the delay – Hansen has been grounded since about 3 p.m. – he remained in position to win the men’s solo division of the 650-mile paddling race. The next closest paddlers were still more than 100 miles back at 9 p.m.

The tandem team of Paul Cox and Joe Mann, who finished at 7:49 a.m. Thursday, won the overall race. The tandem team of Bobby Johnson and Rod Price were second, followed by solo female winner Salli O’Donnell, whom Hansen had predicted early on would be his biggest competition among solo paddlers.

Cox and Mann broke their own record, finishing four days, 22 hours and 25 minutes after the race started Saturday morning.

Paddling toward the finish of the Great Alabama 650

O’Donnell, 61, and Hansen, 59, paddled within a few miles of one another for much of the race, swapping the lead several times, but she pulled away early Thursday, as they neared the bay.

Salli O'Donnell blister

Salli O’Donnell shows off a blister after finishing the Great Alabama 650. Photo courtesy Salli O’Donnell

When told that Hansen had been forced ashore and was waiting for better conditions, O’Donnell, who had already made it back to her home in Florida, groaned.

“Those are brutal miles,” she said. “My heart is breaking for him because I know he just wants to get off that freaking course.”

She said she found it odd that she and Hansen had paired up for so much of the race.

“He’s definitely a faster paddler than I am,” she said. “Each of us has our own ebb and flow. I told him when you’re flowing you’ve got to keep going because if we match each other’s ebbs we’re going to be slow.”

A long race

The 650-mile race started Saturday morning in northeastern Alabama. Rain that fell steadily during the first three days boosted flows along the route, which follows the Coosa and Alabama Rivers. The rain kept up for three days, turning roads and checkpoints into mud pits.

Last night and this morning, as they cut through the wide, exposed waters of the bay, the racers faced buffeting winds, 2- to 3-foot chop, and much cooler temperatures. At one point Wednesday night, Hansen rolled his boat. He came ashore to dry off, warm up and reset, losing more time against O’Donnell. He also experienced trouble with his boat’s rudder.

“Salli was just well conditioned. She knew the course,” said Robert Youens, one of Hansen’s crew members.

The last 18 miles of the race are a slog, as the racers swing to the west, paralleling a narrow strip of coastline at the bottom of Mobile Bay. Waves today were so big at times that the paddlers disappeared from view between swells, Youens said.

west hansen alabama

West Hansen takes a break during the Great Alabama 650. He was forced ashore Wednesday afternoon and is still waiting for conditions to improve. Photo by Barbara Hansen Edington

A perfect race

Race director Greg Wingo said the race couldn’t’ have unfolded any better. “We have a new record that’s going to be unbelievably hard to beat, and another historic battle between Salli and Bobby (Johnson, in the second-place tandem team) that went down to the wire,” Wingo said.

Youens said he was proud of Hansen’s effort, especially since the racers who beat him all have paddled the Great Alabama 650 before.

“These are experienced people who knew all the tricks,” he said. “He’s a freshman to this race and he ran with three veteran crews. It’s a hell of an accomplishment.”

hansen

West Hansen heads out for more paddling. Photo by Barbara Hansen Edington

 

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Hansen, O’Donnell still battling on Day 5 of Great Alabama 650

Hansen, O’Donnell still battling on Day 5 of Great Alabama 650

Jennifer Fratzke Pettus Bridge

Jennifer Fratzke passes beneath the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma at rush hour Tuesday. Photo by Kimberly Hubbard/Courtesy Alabama 650

With about 85 miles to Fort Morgan, West Hansen and Salli O’Donnell continued to battle it out on Day 5 of the Great Alabama 650 paddling race.

The two veteran endurance paddlers, both leading their solo classes, paddled within a few miles of each other all day Wednesday, with O’Donnell out front by a few miles. At 5 p.m. they were both chasing the two tandem teams in the overall lead by another 15 and 35 miles.

It’s going to come down to strategy – and how much sleep the racers take before their final dash across Mobile Bay to Fort Morgan.

The 650-mile race started Saturday morning in northeastern Alabama. Rain that fell steadily during the first three days boosted flows along the route, which follows the Coosa and Alabama Rivers.

The paddlers are on track to break last year’s record of five days, 23 hours and change, set by Joe Mann and Paul Cox, who are also leading this year’s race. The top boats could reach Fort Morgan before noon Thursday.

Hansen’s crew has focused on keeping the Austin paddler, who paddled the entire Amazon River in 2012 and the entire Volga River in 2014, as comfortable as possible. They have rigged a make-shift backrest for the 59-year-old social worker from Austin, scrubbed him down, treated his chafing and blisters, and let him sleep in their support van for three or four hours each night.

O’Donnell’s crew is working hard to keep the 61-year-old Florida athlete healthy, too.

“It’s going to be interesting to see if the body maintenance Salli and West have done is going to pay off,” said Robert Youens, one of Hansen’s crew members, on Day 5 of the Great Alabama 650.

Hansen, apparently, has held on to his dry sense of humor through the ordeal.

“The Texas Water Safari isn’t long enough to know if your boat is truly comfortable,” Hansen joked early Wednesday, according to Youens. “This race is.”

The racers have passed the final portage. All that remains now is straight paddling, through the widest, most windswept section of the course.

Related: On Day 4 of the Great Alabama 650, Hansen and O’Donnell race neck and neck 

Perfect conditions for a fast race

Bobby Johnson and Rod Price at Alabama 650

Bobby Johnson and Rod Price glide through the water near Holy Ground Battlefield Park. On Day 5 of the Great Alabama 650, they were in second place. Photo by Terri D. Stokes/Courtesy Great Alabama 650

Thirteen boats lined up at the start of the race, now in its third year. Just one has dropped out.

Race director Greg Wingo credits Saturday and Sunday’s flood-inducing downpours for keeping the paddlers moving quickly.

“Normally there’s pretty much no flow, just a very, very slow river that’s dammed in many areas. (The rain) certainly helped to have a faster race for everyone, including Joe and Paul, who are on course to destroy their own record from last year,” Wingo said on Day 5 of the Great Alabama 650.

“I cannot imagine the conditions will ever line up more perfectly than they did this year. This was at that perfect spot where we got so much rain it created really good flow, but a little more and we would have had dangerous conditions.”

A front that arrived last night has cooled things off. Temperatures are expected to dip into the low 50s tonight, chilly conditions for athletes who have been paddling for more than four days straight.

The duel continues on Day 5 of the Great Alabama 650

West and Salli Alabama 650

Salli O’Donnell, left, and West Hansen, right, have paddled within a few miles of each other throughout the Great Alabama 650. Photo courtesy Great Alabama 650

As for that neck and neck battle between Hansen and O’Donnell?

“I think it’s been a very traditional battle on the water, but the more interesting thing is the battle on the land between crews,” Wingo said. “They are always jockeying for better position and trying to outdo each other tactically. All Salli and West have to do is paddle.”

The determining factor will likely be how much rest each paddler gets and how much energy they can channel into piloting their boat.

The racers have been stopping to grab snippets of sleep along the way, but down time opens the door for teams to pass one another. As the final miles approach, some may choose to try to push through extreme fatigue.

For example, the second-place tandem team, Rod Price and Bobby Johnson, slept for just an hour Tuesday night, trying to make up time on the lead boat, Youens said.

“They’re just a time bomb waiting to blow up,” Youens said. “They’re trying to go without much sleep and they’re going to explode.”

All the racers tend to sleep for longer stretches as the race goes on, said Wingo, the race director, but the last 100 miles make some of them push the limits.

“There’s a juggling act of feeling like you need a break but seeing light at end of tunnel and not wanting to stop,” Wingo said.

To complicate matters, the last section of the race is when the racers need to stay most focused. The paddlers must navigate an area at the head of Mobile Bay where the river splits into channels. Then they reach the wide, wind-exposed stretches of Mobile Bay. The final 18 miles, where paddles cross the bottom of the bay, is typically the slowest section of the race.

“Conditions can change quickly in the bay and if you are a little foggy in the brain, that can be an issue,” Wingo said. “I certainly encourage crews to really stay hyper focused on how their racers are doing when they are in the bay.”

Follow the live race tracker here.

Salli at ferry

Salli O’Donnell cruises by Gee’s Bend Ferry. Photo by Holly Grace/Courtesy Great Alabama 650

 

 

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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