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Mud, Mosquitoes and Poison Ivy: The Life of Outdoor Travel Writer Pam LeBlanc

• Angela Tuell • Season 5 • Episode 14

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Veteran journalist Pam LeBlanc takes us behind the scenes of her remarkable journey from newspaper columnist to freelance adventure writer in this captivating conversation about authentic outdoor storytelling and responsible tourism. After 32 years in newspapers, Pam made the leap to freelance writing in 2018, focusing exclusively on the muddy, mosquito-bitten adventures that fuel her passion for nature.

"I only want to write about stuff that I have personally experienced myself and I can write about with authority," Pam explains, setting herself apart from writers who compile stories from behind desks. This philosophy has taken her scuba diving with 200 hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos, rappelling down 38-story buildings, dog sledding above the Arctic Circle in Sweden and hiking through the normally inaccessible Santa Elena Canyon during drought conditions.

While Pam's byline appears in prestigious publications like Condé Nast Traveler and Texas Monthly, she remains particularly proud of her work highlighting the natural wonders of Texas. She shares thoughtful perspectives on responsible tourism, encouraging travelers to respect local cultures, seek out less-crowded alternatives to Instagram-famous destinations, use public transportation when possible and always be mindful of environmental impact.

Perhaps most inspirational is Pam's advice for "injecting adventure into everyday life." Her number one tip? "Get your hair wet." This simple phrase encapsulates her philosophy that too many people, especially women, watch adventures from the sidelines rather than fully participating. At 61, she leads by example through her active lifestyle and upcoming trips to France, Colorado and Antarctica, proving age is no barrier to adventure.

Discover more about Pam's adventures and follow her journey at PamLeBlancAdventures.com or AustinTravels.com. Whether you're planning your next outdoor expedition or simply seeking inspiration to step outside your comfort zone, Pam's stories will ignite your sense of adventure and appreciation for the natural world.


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Angela Tuell:

Welcome to Media in Minutes. This is your host, Angela Tuell. This podcast features in-depth interviews with those who report on the world around us. They share everything from their favorite stories to what happened behind the lens and give us a glimpse into their world From our studio here at Communications Redefined. This is Media in Minutes. Today we are talking with adventure and travel writer Pam LeBlanc. After a 32-year career in newspapers, which included starting a Fit City column where she ran a naked 5K and repelled down a 38-story building as part of her year of adventure, pam became a freelance writer. Today, she's an Austin-based freelancer who specializes in stories about outdoor adventure and travel. Her byline can be found in Condé Nast Traveler, yahoo Life, texas Monthly, austin Travels, gear, junkie and many more. She loves anything that makes her muddy, results in mosquito bites or poison ivy, rips her pant legs and brings her closer to nature. Hello, pam, hi, how are you Great? Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for having me.

Angela Tuell:

You have a lot of background, so I was trying to decide where we should start, but we'll kind of go back to the beginning a little bit. You spent over 30 years in newspaper reporting and then pivoted to freelance adventure and travel writing. What pulled you in that direction? How'd you make that change?

Pam LeBlanc:

Well, I left the newspaper business in 2018. And I think the main reason I left was I was fearful for the future of print newspapers and I wanted to go out on my own and see if I could. I had always kind of wondered if I could go freelance and write for a bunch of different magazines instead of the daily newspaper. I loved my newspaper job over the years, but this was something a little bit different and I could focus even more on the stuff that I really loved to write about.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, and how did you find it? You know how, how different was it.

Pam LeBlanc:

Well, I was lucky because when I left the paper um, I had a column that ran in the newspaper, a fitness column for 15 years, and so people in the area kind of knew who I was. So I didn't have any trouble getting my first freelance assignments. I had editor contacts at various publications. I get to pick and choose my assignments, which I love, but I'm really bad at the whole part about invoicing and keeping track of everything. So that was the downside.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, and you have to get paid to make a living. Exactly In your bio you mentioned loving anything that leaves you muddy, or mosquito bitten, even poison ivy.

Pam LeBlanc:

Those don't sound like great things to me, but I am totally an outdoor person and I think that's the niche I've tried to create for myself and my work. I don't typically write about fancy hotels or luxury trips. I'm actually much more comfortable, much more happy outdoors. So I write a lot about canoe paddling trips or scuba diving or snow skiing, camping, anything like that. I just love, I just love. I'm happiest when I'm outdoors.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, what sparked?

Pam LeBlanc:

that I'm really not sure. It's not that I my family, growing up we would go on weekend camping trips just to a campground, but we didn't do anything. You know super adventurous, but my dad kind of instilled in me a curiosity about what's outside and what things I could do outside, so I just learned to love it.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, what are some of your? I won't ask your favorite, because that's a very hard question. But how about some of your favorite adventure experiences you've had?

Pam LeBlanc:

Well, I love, you know, travel all over the world and I've been able to scuba dive all over the world and I love being in the water. I'm a swimmer, I'm part of a master swim team and I train five days a week here in Austin. So anytime I can go on a trip and get in the water, that makes me happy. So that goes from scuba diving to canoe trips. There's a place in West Texas called the Devil's River. It's one of the most pristine rivers in the country and I love to do like multi-day canoe trips on that river and I love the Big Bend region of West Texas. You know I've traveled all over the world, but some of the most beautiful places to me are right here in my home state.

Angela Tuell:

That's a great perspective. A lot of us don't see that we think of. Where else can we see around the world and not really what's in our backyard too? Yeah, how do you choose your next adventure or your next story?

Pam LeBlanc:

Well, a lot of it comes from destinations that get in touch with me and they're looking for reporters to, you know, to bring out and to show their destination to. I've gotten a lot pickier in recent years. I won't just take any trip that is offered to me. I want to go places that I can be outdoors, places that I can do some hiking. I was recently in Patagonia and spent a week and a half visiting national parks down there and that's kind of really the type of thing that I like to do. If I can backpack, I backpack the John Muir Trail. You know snow skiing is high on my list. Every year I try to get out and ski someplace new once or twice. So anything that involves the outdoors and not so much fancy hotels is what I want to be writing about.

Angela Tuell:

Are there any outdoors adventures or things that you won't do? Not so far, that's great, not so far.

Pam LeBlanc:

I'm pretty willing to do just about anything. Nobody has pitched anything that has that I flatly turned down. I've done some pretty crazy things over the years. I have participated in and written about a naked 5k run which I miraculously won. I'm not a fast runner. I think the race happened to attract a lot of slow people. I have a fear of heights, but I've rappelled down a 38 story building. I, I have done the luge Um. I I don't know I have done it all. I've loved to scuba dive, as I mentioned earlier, and have done some diving um with sharks in the Galapagos islands when the hammerhead sharks were schooling, so we had like 200 hammerheads at once. A lot of that stuff that I, I, I. It just makes me feel alive and I I haven't done anything crazy, risky or life threatening, but I just feel like I get out there and and I love to try new things and kind of push my own limits as far as adventure. I think everyone should have more adventure in their life.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, that's super great advice I would. I would question, though, if the swimming with the hammerhead sharks was life threatening.

Pam LeBlanc:

On that dive trip. It was a live aboard dive trip for a week in the Galapagos Islands and the sharks are about the last thing on the list that I was worried about. The water is super cold, the currents are super strong, there's a lot of things that you have to be an experienced diver to be able to do and the sharks really aren't interested in you. They're more interested in each other, and hammerheads in particular. It's not like a great white shark, it's not super aggressive, so that really the sharks themselves are not too fearsome.

Angela Tuell:

Well, that's good, that's good. What do you feel makes your stories different than others? Besides your focus, you know.

Pam LeBlanc:

But yeah, so I won't do stories where, where I sit at my desk at home and contact a bunch of places that I've never been. I know a lot of people do roundup stories but I only want to write about stuff that I have personally experienced myself and I can write about with authority. And I think, as someone that's been covering outdoor adventure for, you know, more than 30 years, I'm well qualified to do that and I do travel all over the country and all over the world. But I'm particularly proud of the work I've done here in Texas, writing about state and national parks and rivers and lakes and oceans and all that. So I think the difference for me is I can write really well in first person about some of the things that other people have never had the chance or opportunity to do.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, you have that credibility Absolutely. What are some of your most memorable stories? I know there's been thousands, right? So I know.

Pam LeBlanc:

I know people ask that all the time and it's really it's hard to say. I just did one recently that was super fun for me. I think it ran in Condé Nast and I went. There's a man, his name is Charlie Gandy, and he's creating a new hiking, equestrian and cycling route that cuts across the midsection of Texas, across the whole state. It's more than 1,000 miles, I think. I can't remember the exact number.

Pam LeBlanc:

So I went and met him out in Big Bend and, because of the drought that West Texas is experiencing right now, the Rio Grande is at extremely low flows, and so that's not a good thing, unless you're trying to hike up this one particular canyon.

Pam LeBlanc:

It's a canyon that the river flows through, with very sheer walls. It's called Santa Elena Canyon, and typically a hiker could not walk through that canyon, but because the water levels are so low, in February I went out with Charlie and we were able to walk up into that canyon. Um, we had to get in water a little bit up to our necks, but mostly it's walking along the shore or walking through very muddy um, extremely muddy thigh, thigh deep mud trails. So that was kind of cool because it was an opportunity that isn't typically there, but because of the conditions right now it's possible. So I like stuff like that. I was in the Marshall Islands and I have been to the Galapagos Islands twice in Patagonia, so I've had the opportunity. I'm super grateful for just the opportunities that I've had to travel around the world and do these things.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, you also do TV segments. Was that a tough change for?

Pam LeBlanc:

writing it is. I'm not a TV, I don't have a TV background at all, but I sort of slipped into it and I have a online travel website with two other women. It's called Austin Travels, and so as part of that, we have a segment once a week. It usually runs on Wednesdays on the local TV station here in Austin and we talk about a destination that we've been through. So yeah, that's great.

Angela Tuell:

I love it. Yes, they're really good too, so congrats on that. Something I wanted to talk about as well is you talk about responsible tourism. You know what are key steps that travelers should take when keeping that in mind.

Pam LeBlanc:

Yeah, I have a lot of thoughts on that, and I guess number one is respect the culture of the place that you're traveling to. You don't want to do anything that the locals would not do, and I also try to avoid super crowded touristy places. I don't want to add to the impact that travelers are already putting on a place that's pressured that way. So I look for places that aren't as touristy as other places. So, for example, I went to Peru a couple of years ago and I'm sure you've seen photos online of the rainbow colored mountains.

Pam LeBlanc:

And instead of going to that one particular mountain. There are other rainbow mountains in Peru that you can go to, and so I found an alternative one to visit that wasn't one that had been highlighted already, so that's another thing that you can do. Obviously, don't litter, you know. Don't exploit the wildlife. That's kind of obvious, but I was just watching some people tormenting a bison, which is not safe and also not good for the animals. I also try, when I can, to use public transportation, and that would be anything from a train or a bus or even a bicycle, when I get to where I'm going, if that's possible. I like to conserve water. I think backpacking has taught me that water is a precious resource and you don't need to use as much water as you think you do. So obviously drink what you need, but don't let the faucet run and all that kind of thing. So I think it all really boils down to me to respecting the environment and respecting the destination where you're traveling.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, those are all great tips. How do you recommend discovering some of those lesser known places?

Pam LeBlanc:

You know, I listen to other people when I travel and try to you know, hear where they've been. I love traveling to places that are diverse, places that are diverse. Last year I was able to go to Sweden and do some dog sledding above the Arctic Circle, and that's something I think that most people don't get to do. So I'm looking. I'm looking for opportunities to do things outdoors that connect me with nature and the environment and not the typical things that you see advertised everywhere.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, yeah, that's great advice. I love finding those things as well, those are usually the best experiences too.

Pam LeBlanc:

Absolutely.

Angela Tuell:

I love how you are also a public speaker and something you talk about is injecting adventure into everyday life, as you mentioned a little bit earlier too.

Pam LeBlanc:

What are?

Angela Tuell:

some of your best tips for this.

Pam LeBlanc:

So my number one tip is get your hair wet. But what I mean when I say that is if you go to the lake. A lot of times I see this among women in particular. If you go to the lake, you might see a bunch of kids and a bunch of guys in the river, in the water playing and diving and having fun and getting their hair wet. And too often I see people sitting on the sidelines because they don't want to mess up their makeup or they don't want to ruin their hair that they've spent 30 minutes, you know, perfecting in the morning.

Pam LeBlanc:

So my advice is just jump in. Just jump in and have a good time and don't worry about what anybody else thinks about you. And it's not so hard to inject adventure in your everyday life. And and I think that means different things to different people. So for me, injecting adventure into my life might mean, you know, going on a paddling trip and camping on the river. To other people, it might mean getting up early in the morning and going for a run before the sun comes up, just because that's not what they normally do. But I just think to mix up your own routine a little bit and put a little spice in your own daily life helps me experience a little more adventure.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, I think that could definitely help all of us, definitely. You mentioned earlier about being a little more choosy in your travels. How often are you traveling currently?

Pam LeBlanc:

Well, I always tell myself I'm trying to slow down. I travel a lot. I would say I'm gone. Maybe I did slow down for the last couple of months because I'm trying to work on a hiking guide and I'm almost done with that, so the travel is ramping up again. But I would say when I'm traveling, when I'm full steam, I'm traveling probably 10 to 12 days a month. You know where I get on an airplane and travel somewhere else. But I also have a camper van, so I'm doing a lot of travel around the state or I just drive, you know, drive to a state park and stay a night or two and then go somewhere else. I do a lot of small town profile stories for several magazines as well. So I do a lot of drive travel along with the airplane travel. I try I guess I try to keep it to one like one international trip a month. I don't want any more than that or my head explodes.

Pam LeBlanc:

I have a husband here at home that I like to see now and then Right.

Angela Tuell:

And it's like when do you get the work done? You know, when do you write?

Pam LeBlanc:

Yes, exactly, exactly.

Angela Tuell:

Do you have any favorite tools or resources you use when planning travel?

Pam LeBlanc:

You know, I rely a lot on PR professionals to guide me and to other people that I know that have traveled to places. I always like a science angle to anything I'm doing, and I know a lot of people who work for parks departments and national parks around the country, and so I'll a lot of times tap people that I know sources that I've had over the years to get advice from them. I'm always looking for science angles too, so I, you know, try to see what's going on in the, you know, with wildlife studies and things like that, and I get ideas that way.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, that's great. How can PR pros, which is a large part of our audience, best help you with your job?

Pam LeBlanc:

Yeah, pr professionals have helped me a lot over the years and I appreciate them. I guess my advice is to keep the pitches to a reasonable number to a reasonable number. Don't flood journalists with too many story ideas. Make sure that you know who you're contacting. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten emails that are clearly, you know, direct, sent to me, that should not be sent to me, that they don't know what I'm writing about. So you know, check, like muck rack or something, and and get an idea of what type of work the journalist does before you reach out and pitch them. Um, and just, you know, be a real person, call me in person, I'm happy to chat, uh, rather than getting just an email that's misdirected.

Pam LeBlanc:

Yeah, it's all about those relationships, right, it's in the title, exactly I have worked with some of the same PR people you know for more than 15 or 20 years, which is great. When I have a relationship like that with someone, they know the type of stuff that I'm looking for and and they and they are so helpful, getting me background information that I need or connecting me with sources that I need to to write a good story, and and helping me, um, you know, arrange a trip, um, so I can do things firsthand and experience things before I write about them. Because, like I said earlier, I it doesn't make sense to me that people are writing about things they have not experienced firsthand.

Angela Tuell:

Right, absolutely. Something else I love that I've seen in your writing is spotlighting female outdoor trailblazers and advocates. Why is showcasing women's voices important in the adventure space?

Pam LeBlanc:

Well, I think traditionally, a lot of outdoor adventure writers have been male. Traditionally, a lot of outdoor adventure writers have been male and whatever reason. We've focused on tough guys in the great outdoors and there are just as many amazing women doing incredible things paddlers, skiers, climbers, you know all of that stuff and I want to encourage other people to get out and experience the outdoors, and so when I highlight a woman who's doing that, I think that it reminds people who read the story that, yeah, maybe I could do that. I want to encourage other women to get out and have fulfilling, adventurous lives and by giving examples of people who have done that, I hope it inspires them.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, absolutely, and I will not ask your age, but you've been a journalist for a long time and you're very active and, like you've said, how do you continue this as you age? Yeah Well, I just turned 61.

Pam LeBlanc:

I don't care if anyone knows how old I am, don't look at it at all, yeah, and I don't. I don't feel that old and I feel like getting out and doing stuff is what keeps me young and I have, you know, I I swim with people my age, I I go paddling with people who are my age and older than me and I I guess I just, over the years, met a lot of people who are older than I am that are still staying active, and I believe that's how you stay healthy is to keep on doing it, and it makes me happy. I love to be outside and doing active type things. So if I wasn't, what would I be doing? Sitting here at my computer, just, you know, not using myself. So it's my personality.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, you are definitely one of those females to look up to as well in the adventure space, for sure. So what's next for you? What adventures are on the horizon?

Pam LeBlanc:

Well, let's see, I've got a bunch of stuff coming up. I'm going to Colorado in a few weeks, then I'm going on a hut-to-hut hiking adventure in France, hiking adventure in France. And then I'm going scuba diving in Eustacia. And then in January I'm going to Antarctica, which has been on my list for a while, so I'm super excited about that one.

Angela Tuell:

Wow, those all sound fantastic. We cannot wait to read about them.

Pam LeBlanc:

For sure, thank you.

Angela Tuell:

How can our audience connect with you online?

Pam LeBlanc:

Sure, I have several Facebook pages. My personal page is Pamela LeBlanc. I have Pam LeBlanc Adventures, which I feature a lot of the stuff that I've been writing and has been published, and I also have the Austin Travels Facebook page. I have my own website it's PamLeBlancAdventurescom, and I have that Austin Travels website, austintravelscom, and I have Instagram Pam LeBlanc Adventures and Austin Travels Magazine.

Angela Tuell:

So look, for it there. We will have all of those links in our show notes and thank you so much, pam. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. That's all for this episode of Media in Minutes, a podcast by Communications Redefined. Take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to our show. We'd love to hear what you think. You can find more at communicationsredefinedcom slash podcast. I'm your host, Angela Tuell. Talk to you next time.