FULL PACKER DATELINE NEWS RELEASE – 7/31/06 – 1:34am: Full Packers Capitanious, First Light and Rocketman, along with Jr. Full Packer Redwood cut through the waters of the Fish Creek West Branch on Sunday, July 30 and successfully found their way to Gifford Lake. "Each one of these expeditions is training ground for all that we hope to do in the future" Capitanious stated in an early morning interview. “We have 56 days remaining in our preparation for Mt. Adams, First Light has kicked off his training and hopefully Rocketman will do the same, soon!”

FULL PACKER DATELINE NEWS RELEASE – 7/25/06 – 5:51am: Using state of the art satellite technology, Full Packers Rocketman, First Light, Capitanious and Jr. Full Packer, Redwood will once again hit the waters of Fish Creek West Branch this Sunday (July 30th) with the goal of finding Gifford Lake. “This is another exciting chapter for the Full Packers”, stated Capitanious in a phone conversation, “we have available satellite technology to help us find the most efficient path to Gifford Lake.” (The above photo was taken on Fish Creek eastern section leading into Oneida Lake)

FULL PACKER DATELINE NEWS RELEASE – 7/25/06 – 5:51am:

As evening fell on the first night of the Little Tupper Lake Canoe/Kayaking Expedition so did the rain. Throughout the night, rain tapped on the tents while loons sang their sad territorial songs that echoed down the lake valley. In the darkness of the Adirondack night, First Light sang his own song of deep restful sleep, while Capitanious and Redwood played a game of rummy and then finished off the night with a few chapters of “The Climb” by Anatoli Boukreev.

In the morning, after opening the tent window fly, you could see we were in for a full day rain. The gray mist on the lake was framed by the grayness of the clouds over head. You could feel the temperature drop, leaving First Light’s coffee and Redwood’s campfire with the task of warming early morning bones.

Three loons patrolled the lake harbor and an occasional kayaker or canoeist would paddle by. And as the morning turned into afternoon, a steady stream of canoes loaded with gear made their way past campsite 1 heading east for the dryness of home, while the three Full Packers toughed it out.

The main chore of the day after a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage and pears was to keep the campfire burning and all thoughts of exploring the surrounding campsites, islands and harbors were washed away with the rains.

First Light took the lead along with another Amstel Light and organized a firewood party. Dead standing trees were toppled and dragged back to camp. The fire grew large and hot with each successful fire wood party.

After a lunch of turkey sandwiches on rye bread with hot cherry tomato peppers, Capitanious decided to retire into his tent. He tried his best to convince the other men that to stay warm and dry is the most important thing under these harsh conditions. Unfortunately, the excitement of the day and alcohol stimulation kept First Light well lubricated and Redwood very much entertained.

After a fitful rest, Capitanious emerged from his tent ready to help man the fire and enjoy First Light’s and Redwood’s companionship.

More to come...

First Light enjoys the moment while preparing his tenting site.

Redwood settles in for a solo match of chess. He is a high potential candidate for Full Packer membership. “He is the future of the Full Packers” - Capitanious

FULL PACKER DATELINE NEWS RELEASE – 7/24/06 – 3:30am: Full Packers; First Light, Capitanious (Expedition Leader) and Redwood (Full Packer wannabe of the DeCoursey lineage) returned yesterday afternoon to their home base camps after a successful expedition of Little Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks. This would mark the first canoeing/kayaking expedition untaken by the Full Packers. In an early morning interview, Capitanious stated, “I hope this will be the first of many canoeing/kayaking expeditions for the Full Packers.” Capitanious continues, “We have blessed the Full Packers with the waters of Little Tupper with the mountains of our past. This is a new chapter in this organization.”

DAY 1: Arriving at the Whitney Wilderness Range Station Friday at 12:00 noon, they set off on the formerly uncharted and yes, unsanctioned Full Packer canoeing/kayaking camping expedition. Because of the unknown element of this expedition, their goal was to secure campsite 1 (one mile from putting in) and then go on and explore the area on Saturday, July 22. With a full canoe Capitanious (Expedition Leader) and First Light, sliced the waters of Little Tupper with Redwood trailing in “little blue” the kayak. The lake was choppy and the winds were from the west. It would be necessary to make two trips to the campsite to bring in all of the supplies needed for this excursion.

Within 45 minutes the 3 outdoorsman set foot on what would be home for the next 3 days, 2 nights. The landing for the canoe and kayak was a leech filled, rocky shoreline with very little landing room for the two boats. With Capitanious steering the canoe they gently maneuvered into the harsh landing environment.

The campsite was set up on a tree-lined hill and looked over Little Tupper. Because of previous windstorms there was large quantities of available firewood, from Evergreen, to White Burch to the Great American Spruce. Two relatively flat tents sites were secured and expedition cargo was transferred from boat to base camp in a matter of minutes. With campsites secured and cargo transferred, Capitanious and First Light returned to the ranger station for the remaining expedition supplies. Redwood stayed behind to gather firewood and explore the best site locations for outside cellular communications.

After gathering the remaining supplies, Capitanious and First Light returned. The task of setting up camp was a top priority. Within an hour a campfire was keeping the men warm, thanks to Redwood, the tents erected and Capitanious was preparing the mess tent (no tent) that would be the center gathering location while the explorers were in camp. Grilled hotdogs and beans were the main course.

Capitanious was not ready to rest; he got in “little blue” and paddle across the lake to campsite 6. On the way back he decided to have some fun with 3 loons enjoying the afternoon. He steered his kayak in a southerly direction and headed straight for the loons. As Capitanious got within 10 yards of the Adirondack wild life they dove to the undersurface of the lake, only to rise 20 yards away and at a much safer distance. Simply beautiful were his thoughts as he turned “little blue” around and headed for camp.

When Capitanious arrived back at camp it was time to raise the bear sack. With one smooth motion Capitanious gently threw his kayak rope (with log attached) 30 feet into the air; it reached its apex and gravity led it back to the pine needle ground. The men attached all foodstuffs that may attract a bear to the vicinity, items such as bread, rolls and cookies. With a few pulls of the rope, the yellow foodstuff bag hung 30 feet high, well out of the grasp of any black bear that may wander into the area. It was at this point that Capitanious was told that it might be a good idea to also hang the can goods as well. After a few moments of protest and reason, trying to convince the other party that bears are not going to smell the scent of food in can goods, he capitulated and brought the foodstuff back to the ground. Within a minute of two, Capitanious using a carabineer attached to now the second foodstuff bag hoisted the heavy load up into the tree. With the weight of the load on the rope and the abrasion from the branch it was suspended from the rope snapped. The over weighted foodstuff bags crashed to the earth. As the cloud of baby powder (why baby powder was in a food stuff bag still puzzles Capitanious) subsided, the three adventurers knew they had their work cut out for them. It was getting dark. Luckily, First Light had a heavier rope, which could stand the weight of the overweighed food stuff bags.

It was a long day and the FP’s hunkered down for a long Adirondack night. The plan for the morning was to explore the surrounding area for future FP explorations.

DAY 2: stay tuned….

FULL PACKER DATELINE NEWS RELEASE – 7/5/06 – 11:30am: In a late morning press conference, Capitanious offered the following statement; “It has come to my attention that Rocketman may indeed be correct in his earlier e-mailed statement regarding the founding birth date of the Full Packers. If we are using the year of Herm-Aid as the Full Packer birth year, he is correct. If memory serves me correct; Jambo, Rocketman and Cosmos were going to attend or did attend the Neil Young “Solo” concert at the New York State Fairgrounds. My researchers confirmed that the date of the Young concert was August 27, 1989.” With that Capitanious quickly left the podium and refused to answer further questions.

FULL PACKER DATELINE NEWS RELEASE – 7/5/06 – 9:22am: In a phone interview this morning, Capitanious responded to an e-mail sent to him over the past 4th of July weekend. In it, its states; “capt. the FULLPACKERS were founded in 1989 not 1988 as you stated, at HERM AID .REMEMEBER? DAAH ! ROCKETMAN.” Capitanious responded, "I would like to set the record straight for Rocketman! The Full Packer Association was founded in the summer 1988. Our first actual climb was the following year in 1989 when we went up and over Mt. Marcy fully packed. I know that one of the joys of e-mail is to throw out quick simple remarks, where no thought is given to the verbalized statement. As a Charter Member I take pride in knowing Full Packer History, I just wish other Charter Members would do the same." As the phone interview was coming to an end Capitanious took advantage of the moment and brought up another e-mail that was sent to him by the other Charter Member Jambo. "As you may know, I suggested that the Full Packers register as climbers in pursuit of becoming offical members of the 46ers by climbing all the High Peaks over 4,000' in the Adirondacks. Shortly after this published statement in The Full Packer Report, Jambo e-mailed a stated to me, simply stating, 'Take my 4-6 inches!' I'm not quite sure what Jambo is referring to, however I believe he is referring to a part of his anatomy!!" Capitanious paused for a moment, obviously furious with the comment, and then continued "Let me state for the record that it is this type of remark and behavior that has set the Full Packers back for the past 4 to 5 years. I am publishing Jambo's remark as an example and to demonstrate how Full Packers should not behave, especially in this time of rebuilding."