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Found on the San Marcos River: Innertubes, toilet seat and a cow femur wearing a shoe

Found on the San Marcos River: Innertubes, toilet seat and a cow femur wearing a shoe

by | Mar 2, 2020 | Blog

Pam LeBlanc hauls bags of trash from her canoe to a dumpster. Chris LeBlanc photo

I spent a satisfying day yesterday paddling a 6-mile stretch of the San Marcos River, loading my aluminum canoe with old flip flops, car tires and deflated innertubes left on the waterway.

I turned my boat into a floating trash barge for the first day of the San Marcos River Cleanup, hosted by theTexas Canoe and Kayak Racing Association. My final haul included an old fishing rod, a slew of plastic containers, a football, a deflated raft, swim goggles, and a cow femur wearing an exploded tennis shoe. I left the dead deer behind, and another boat traveling with us picked up more tires, more innertubes, more plastics, and a toilet seat (found, then lost again.)

Chris LeBlanc wrestles garbage from an old cypress tree on the San Marcos River. Pam Leblanc photo

It’s discouraging to see so much garbage in the river, a place that brings me so much joy. I spent a lot of time on it last year training for and participating in the Texas Water Safari, a 260-mile paddling race from San Marcos to the Texas coast.

The good news? If you want to participate but missed yesterday’s event, you can join day two of the event, scheduled for Saturday, March 7.

You don’t need a boat to participate. The upper stretches of the river and its banks, especially at highway crossings and bridges, are so trashed that volunteers are needed to walk the shore, collecting garbage.

Chris LeBlanc rolls a discarded tire off the San Marcos River in Luling. Pam LeBlanc photo

Gird your loins if you plan to attend – it’s pretty nasty out there, and organizers of the 35thannual event promise a serious yuck factor. You’ll be handsomely rewarded, just through knowing you’re helping to keep our waterways – and the creatures that live there – healthy.

Chris LeBlanc holds up a cow femur wearing a shoe. Pam LeBlanc photo

“Volunteers are guaranteed to experience trash jams that resemble the trash compactor (complete with monster) from the original Star Wars movie,” a web posting about the event says. “This section of river is not recommended for the faint of heart.”

To help clean the top section of the river (suitable for novice boaters), the 2-mile stretch from San Marcos City Park to Thompson’s Island, meet at City Park at 9:30 March 7. To register, go to the City of San Marcos website at https://www.sanmarcostx.gov/363/Preserve-Beautify.

Part of the haul. Pam LeBlanc photo

If you’re an experienced paddler, consider pitching in to help clean the 3.5-mile stretch of river from Thompson’s Island to San Marcos River Retreat. Meet at the retreat at 9 am on March 7.
Plan on staying on the river until about 4 p.m. Organizers will deliver lunch to the San Marcos Wastewater Treatment Plant at about noon.

To get to the San Marcos River Retreat from Interstate 35 in San Marcos, take Highway 80 toward Luling for 1.8 miles. Turn light on County Road 101. Take an immediate left onto County Road 102. Go one half mile and turn right on Pecan Park Road. Pass TG Canoes and Kayaks and the road will end at the San Marcos River Retreat office.

For more info call Tom Goynes at 512-787-5574 or go to http://sanmarcosriverretreat.com.

Jason Sowell participates in a trash cleanup on the San Marcos River on Feb. 29, 2020. Pam LeBlanc photo

 

 

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Scouting the route of the Texas Winter 100K paddling race

Scouting the route of the Texas Winter 100K paddling race

by | Jan 13, 2020 | Blog

West Hansen loads a canoe on top of a truck after paddling the Colorado River. Terri Lynn Manna looks on. Pam LeBlanc photo

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The last time I spent much time in a canoe, I spent way too much time in a canoe.

That was Texas Water Safari last June, when I paddled nearly non-stop for 53 hours in a three-person boat headed 260 miles from San Marcos to Seadrift. When that adventure wrapped, my butt hurt, my shoulders ached, my brain had fried and all I wanted to do was sleep – for about five weeks. Many moons passed before I could even think about gliding down a river dodging alligator gar, clambering over floating mats of bobbing logs, communing with palm-sized spiders and wading through mud.

Yesterday, though, I climbed into a tandem canoe with a high school friend for a 24-mile paddle down the Colorado River to scout part of the route of the upcoming Texas Winter 100K race, which starts at Lady Bird Lake and finishes at Fisherman’s Park in Bastrop.

I competed in the race last year as part of my training for the Safari, and loved seeing the river barren of leaves, and paddling through a crispy sunrise. I’m not planning to race the Safari this year (maybe next!), but I am considering doing the TWO, which shook out as a full day of wildlife spotting, peeing-without-getting-out-of-the-boat training and general conditioning last year. But water levels are lower now, so I haven’t made the final call. (Also, I’m not sure my friend, veteran paddler Curt Slaten, can tolerate me for that long.))

Still, yesterday’s cruise in semi-sluggish waters made for a fun day, punctuated by the sighting of numerous Mexican eagles (caracara), several squadrons of cormorants, some jumping fish, a few other paddlers, and one nice scamper through the woods. Race director West Hansen, along with fellow Arctic Cowboy Jeff Wueste and cross-country traveler Terri Lynn Manna, joined us for the excursion.

Interested in the race? Go to www.texaswinter100kto register. There’s even a category for standup paddlers, who for the first time can do the entire 62-mile distance this year.

And if free stuff matters to you, listen closely. This race hands out the best schwag of any I’ve ever entered – a slew of Yeti coolers and cups and outdoor gear, all doled out during a raffle at the pre-race briefing the night before. That alone could be worth the price of admission.

Terri Lynn Manna, center, takes a nap while West Hansen, front, calls for a shuttle pickup. Jeff Wueste watches from the driver’s seat. Pam LeBlanc photo

West Hansen checks the route of the upcoming Texas Winter 100K. Pam LeBlanc photo

West Hansen checks the route of the upcoming Texas Winter 100K. Pam LeBlanc photo

 

 

 

 

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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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One Austin paddler pulled more than 500 balls from Lady Bird Lake

One Austin paddler pulled more than 500 balls from Lady Bird Lake

by | Sep 15, 2019 | Blog

Geoff Waters has collected more than 500 balls from Lady Bird Lake since March. Photo courtesy Geoff Waters

Geoff Waters has scooped 534 balls from Lady Bird Lake in the last six months.

That’s a lot of balls, and most of them – 402, to be exact – were tennis balls that probably escaped the clenches of a dog playing fetch from the shore.

Waters paddles the lake frequently while training for endurance canoe races like the Texas Water Safari and the Yukon River Quest. He got in the habit of plucking errant orbs from the water back in March. He and another local paddler, Mike Gordan, turned it into something of a game, filling their boats with balls as they logged laps up and down the lake.

“I had been seeing a lot as I was going around the lake but couldn’t get to shore to get them in my skinny 19-foot boat,” he said. He took a smaller boat out and in one day alone raked in 192 balls.

Others in the paddling community saw what they were doing and started collecting balls, too.

The vast majority of the balls were tennis balls. Photo courtesy Geoff Waters

This week, Waters hauled his load of balls to the curb for large trash pickup. Besides the tennis balls, he had collected 38 ping pong balls, 18 store-bought dog balls, 14 Nerf balls, 14 softball or baseballs, eight bobbers, seven racquet balls, three Whiffle balls, one croquet ball, one Christmas tree ornament and 28 other miscellaneous balls.

And it’s not just balls.

“I only take pictures of the balls because it’s become a little game, but for every ball I pick up, I’m usually picking up two plastic water bottles or other pieces of trash,” Waters said.

He’d like to see others do the same.

“It’s just a mindset of picking trash out of the water,” he said. “If you see something floating on the water, you snag it.”

Better yet, don’t let the balls find their way into the lake in the first place.

“Hey, quit treating tennis balls as something disposable to just leave in the lake,” he said. “If Sparky’s getting tired, don’t make that last throw.”

 

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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Following the Arctic Cowboys to the coast for a shakedown run

Following the Arctic Cowboys to the coast for a shakedown run

by | Aug 26, 2019 | Blog

Jimmy Harvey, left, Jeff Wueste, center, and West Hansen, right, drag their kayaks out of the surf at sunrise Saturday. Pam LeBlanc photo

Next summer, I’m heading north to track the Austin-based Arctic Cowboys as they attempt to become the first paddlers to kayak the entire Northwest Passage.

I’m pretty excited about that expedition. Covering big adventure tops the list of why I left my long-time and much loved job at the Austin American-Statesman to go freelance last fall.

Last weekend, Arctic Cowboys leader West Hansen, plus teammates Jeff Wueste, Jimmy Harvey and I, drove to Padre Island National Seashore so the guys could get some time in the surf in their Epic 18X kayaks.

West Hansen, leader of the Arctic Cowboys expedition, paddles into the surf at Padre Island National Seashore on Aug. 23, 2019. Pam LeBlanc photo

My job? Stand waist deep in the water and try not to flood my camera while taking shots of them in action. I needed the practice as much as they needed the shakedown run in their Epic 18X kayaks.

They learned a few things, like it’s difficult to right an unloaded sea kayak in the surf. The ballast keeps a boat steadier and easier to roll back to upright position.

West Hansen, Jeff Wueste and Jimmy Harvey pose after a training session at Padre Island National Seashore. Pam LeBlanc photo

We spent about four hours at the beach Friday night, then went back to the hotel, where Hansen and the others did their own version of that scene from “Jaws,” where everyone sits around and compares scars. Hansen won, revealing a jagged line on his leg where he impaled it on a chunk of glass as a kid.

West Hansen, leader of the Arctic Cowboys, prepares for a training session. Pam LeBlanc photo

We got up extra early Saturday morning and headed back to the beach for sunrise. My biggest takeaway from that? Leave the camera gear in the car overnight or it’ll never unfog when you pull it out at the beach.

West Hansen, front, and Jeff Wueste, back, practice paddling in rough surf. Pam LeBlanc photo

I’ve attached some of my favorite shots from the weekend. And look for a story in the Austin American-Statesman in the next few weeks about Hansen’s expeditions, and the Sept. 7 book signing for his upcoming account of his 2012 Amazon Express expedition.

That 111-day adventure took his team 4,100 miles down the world’s longest river. The Northwest Passage should feel short by comparison.

West Hansen lost his cowboy hat in the surf. Pam LeBlanc photo

 

 

 

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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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Arctic Cowboys postpone expedition until 2020

Arctic Cowboys postpone expedition until 2020

by | Jul 2, 2019 | Blog

West Hansen, shown here paddling south of Victoria in 2018, has postponed his attempt to paddle the Northwest Passage. Pam LeBlanc photo

The Arctic Cowboys have postponed their expedition to kayak the Northwest Passage until next summer.

Team leader West Hansen, who in 2012 led a National Geographic-sponsored team that paddled the entire Amazon River and in 2014 led the first descent of the Volga River in Russia, says the team needs more funding before attempting to become the first to paddle the remote 1,900-mile route.

“While the team was in prime shape, after training for and completing the 260-mile Texas Water Safari, the funding was insufficient to launch the expedition and we did not want to begin without adequate resources to assure a successful crossing,” Hansen wrote in a press release. “The distance and conditions are formidable enough without concerns regarding transportation to and from the Arctic and reasonable supplies.”

Hansen, a 57-year-old social worker from Austin, along with paddlers Jeff Wueste, 58, and Jimmy Harvey, 56, will face challenges in the form of polar bears, crushing sea ice and frigid temperatures during their Arctic trip.

During the next 11 months, they’ll look for financial sponsors. They’ll also make training runs along the 385-mile Texas coastline this winter, testing their Epic sea kayaks in heavy wind and waves.

Hansen paddling in a slough near Victoria in 2018. Pam LeBlanc photo

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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