It seems a long time since Tom Stout and I decided to leave our executive careers and start a business all our own, doing things with our families we liked to do in the outdoors and helping folks do the same. It is a long time, with many ups and downs but mostly ups. Unforgettable trips and relationships with suppliers and customers. More recently after Tom and I agreed to go separate ways in 1975, I've been so lucky that Moor & Mountain has allowed me to work oin the Bay Circuit Trail and Greenway - again, more unforgettable trips, friends, associates. I'd do it anll over again!

If you visit our store please remember to ask Al or whoever's on duty about Al's Dollar Box. It's not a really big deal, but Al would be so pleased to be asked! Makes him feel like a master merchandiser (which he's not by any stretch).

Thought 1: The Boston Globe reported on Tom Brady's deal with Underarmor, complete with a photograph of Mr. Brady encased in the signature product i.e. long underwear. I just wish to announce that you can find Underarmor underwear at Moor & Mountain, although you won't find me or Burt modeling it.

has been greatly exaggerated (to borrow someone's phrase - maybe Mark Twain?). For those folks who happily cross country ski on 3-pin bindings but need replacements for those Norwegian Alfa touring boots that have finally bit the dust (or snow), contact us for the cost of just replacing the boots (we still stock both 3-pin boots and bindings) vs. changing to the new NNN system boot and bindings. By the time you buy NNN boots, bindings, and remounting on your existing skis you'll spend just under $ 100.00 more than a replacement pair of 3-pin boots. Is there a performance bonus?

I've established a group on my new facebook account. It's called "Friends of Moor & Mountain". I hope it will be a place to exchange ideas about outdoor life as seen through Moor & Mountain's niche: favorite special places, walks, climbs, paddles. Hope you'll take a look, join, and comment. Al

Someone came in the store this week and commented that kayaks were better than canoes because they were lighter. In my opinion, 'tain't necessarily so! I would say that canoes and kayaks can be designed to fit the same weight category. One could argue that kayaks must be heavier because they are decked hence more material, but their are also decked canoes. Weight is primarily a function of type of material and volume of load to be accommodated. A small, Kevlar canoe can weight much less than a large polyethylene kayak.

The Bay Circuit Trail(BCT): It’s been my pleasure to be involved with many others in creating a 200 mile, non-motorized Boston area trail. This primarily off-road scenic walking trail arcs around Boston from Plum Island to Kingston Bay in thirty four communities. Since 1990 a group of organizations and individuals has worked in a fifty two town corridor between Route 128 and I-495 to connect open space reservations and existing local trails. The idea isn’t new – the proposal for a Bay Circuit Greenbelt actually dates from the nineteen thirties.

Some ask what the internet's for.
There's hundreds of reasons, and more.
To urge you to visit our store
And not just to darken our door.
One reason comes to the fore.
The principal reason, alas,
Is to fatten our register's cash.

SIMPLE AS THAT!! Al French, Prop.

Internal frames have much to offer backcountry skiers, winter campers, and high angle climbers. They allow what one calls a "live load", riding closer to the back and therefore the wearer's center of gravity. However, the backpacking industry (including most retail outlets) have unfairly designated external frame backpacks as obsolete artifacts from the Jurassic Age of outdoor equipment.

This is one of our most frequently asked questions as Spring arrives and interest in personal watercraft picks up. The short answer is they both can provide a wonderful way to enjoy the waterways of New England, but as paddling tools they differ depending on where you want to paddle and what you want to take with you. When I get around to it there will be a another post for those who have the time and inclination for my "long answer", but here's the summary...