About Marc "Duck"

Outdoor Passions: Hiking, Skiing, Paddling, Climbing & Napping

Hailing from the great state of New Jersey, Marc’s earliest recollection of spending time in the woods dates back to 1967 when as a mere lad of two he spent a weekend at Cape Ann in Massachusetts with his family. Summers growing up entailed an annual canoe trip down the Delaware river with his father – a trip tradition he continued in his twenties with friends and family. A child of the eighties, Marc recalls this decade with a fondness reserved for old lovers who’s faults are long forgotten. None the less, it was during this oft maligned period that he did his first backpacking – spending a few nights on the A.T. in Virginia. After doing five to seven in NYC having been indicted for false expectations and warped values he shed his corporate garb, packed up his trusty Honda and relocated to Vermont – a place where he “had never had anything but good times.”

Armed with only an old backpack, a four person tent, and a mad river canoe he purchased from a former college professor for a mere $200 (the canoe is still water worthy almost twenty years later) he began to explore the Greens, Whites, and Adirondaks eventually realizing that in order to justify buying that cool looking Mountainsmith Frostfire 2 he would need to start doing some “real” backpacking. During one of his first adventures with this new pack he found himself lending his old pack and some old gear to a friend who couldn’t afford his own gear. A few years later this had become a trend and over hot chocolate at one of the Lake Colden lean-tos in the Adirondaks the idea for The Outdoor Gear Exchange was born. A year later, while sitting alone in a Hotel in London on a business trip (yes – selling Teddy Bears in London!) he decided once again to shed his shackles of employment and follow his heart into a career in retailing camping equipment.

He dragged a friend along and in 1995 the Outdoor Gear Exchange opened its doors for the first time in 800 square feet on Main Street. Since then he’s moved the store twice, ultimately into it’s present location over ten times as large as the original. While growing the OGE has been more than a full time vocation since 1995, this has not kept Marc from keeping in touch with the avocation that drove him into business. Marc has hiked, paddled, climbed and skied extensively throughout the northeast as well as logging many miles and days on trails in Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Oregon, Montana, California, Chile, Argentina, Italy, British Columbia, and West Virginia. Aside from Burlington Vermont, his favorite places in the world are Italy and the High Sierra but there’s plenty of World still to explore.

Currently, Marc lives in Burlington with two cats a dog and a whole bunch of stuff and spends as much of his time outside as possible. When not playing in the garden, mowing the lawn, or building stuff around the house he’s enjoying the wilds - spring and fall are for hiking and running, summer is best spent paddling and climbing, and winter is spent on the slopes telemarking on and off trail.