When the owner of GBO, Mac Rand, was 11 years old, he spent the first of what turned out to be 30 summers at Camp Pathfinder, a marvelous canoe tripping camp located in Algonquin Park, Ontario —one of the very best areas for canoe tripping in North America, rivaling Boundary Waters/Quetico. Mac rose through the camper ranks (and was recognized for being the "best tripper" in 1968) and joined the staff for the next eight years. The last five of those staff years were spent as a "headman", leading kids on wilderness canoe trips ranging up to 20 days throughout Algonquin and also into Temagami, Ontario and Kipawa and La Verendrye, Quebec. Real life interfered for several years after college, but Mac couldn't resist the temptation when the owner decided it was time to sell the camp in 1982. Mac spent the next 17 summers as the owner and Director of Pathfinder, developing new programs such as mountain biking, a high ropes course, and exploring new tripping areas, before finally selling it to two old camp buddies after the 1999 season. Mac's adult children Katie and Matt both spent many years at Pathfinder. Katie ran the waterfront program for several years. Matt went on a 24 day trip from Lake Superior to James Bay, bisecting the entire province of Ontario one paddle stroke at a time for 450 miles. The Rands still maintain very close ties to the camp, and the family has a summer cottage just a few lakes away. Algonquin Park remains their favorite place.

In his spare time, Mac is an avid triathlete and has completed three Ironman triathlons. He is also a certified scuba diver, a licensed pilot with over 1000 hours of flight time, and enjoys nature photography. Another hobby is carving wood canoe paddles from scratch; come by the shop and check out his blades, and visit his Shady Point Paddles website. Mac is also a New York State Licensed Guide and is First Aid/CPR trained, so knows his way around the outdoors.

Along with owning camp, Mac was also a middle school science teacher for 22 years. During that time he planned several Earth Day celebrations and field trips into the local outdoor scene to show his students the "real life" version of what they had learned in class. He introduced his Mizzentop Day School 5th and 6th graders to the Appalachian Trail in Pawling on overnight backpacking trips—an experience they will never forget!

Earth Day brought Mac and his wife Ann together, when they independently proposed to the headmaster of the school where they both taught that the school should celebrate this special day. The boss said "Sure", as long as the two worked together. They have been together ever since, and were married at the chapel at Camp Pathfinder (Ann's suggestion!) in 1992. Mac and Ann's youngest daughter Faith enjoys her time at the Algonquin cottage (except for the mosquitoes) and thinks nothing of not having running water or electricity (unless it occurs when they are at their home in Pawling)!

The Rand family has always enjoyed being outdoors, and want to help other folks have that same opportunity. You don’t have to go far away to share experiences similar to what they have done; adventure is closer than you think!