Russell Dunn – Nature Guide Author

“That’s an interesting question, and one that I may never be able to answer in an exact way, for there never was a specific Eureka moment for me. I started off with an interest to climb the major high peaks in NYS; then I sought out the lowest points and became a caver. I suppose waterfalls became a compromise between the two.”

“My wife contends that my interest in waterfalls started after I began collecting antique postcards and became fascinated with trying to locate all of the Victorian Era scenic wonders depicted on the cards that had fallen into obscurity over the years. It became analogous to a treasure hunt for me.”

“In terms of meaning, the Victorians’ notion of the “sublime and awesome” comes most readily to mind when I view a waterfall.”

“At the heart of this is a conviction that most people don’t fully realize how close they live to waterfalls, or how accessible they are. My guidebooks provide a way for readers to re-discover the wonders of nature around them.”

“On the other hand, those who buy my guidebooks will never have the same sense of adventure that I experienced seeking out the waterfalls in the first place. When you refer to a guidebook, everything is explained in detail and predetermined. You never have that true sense of adventure that comes from wondering what may lie around the next corner of the woods. I can’t begin to tell you how many lonely, desolate ravines I have hiked through looking for waterfalls only to find nothing in the end. Readers of my books will be spared those misadventures – and yet it was those misadventures, and the sense of the unknown, that made the hikes exciting for me.”

“My goal has been to put waterfalls into a historical context, for it is only then that you are able to really understand their significance. One hundred year old postcards give readers an opportunity to compare the waterfall of today with how it looked a century ago. That’s a pretty novel and interesting concept; I think you would agree. As it turns out – probably to no one’s surprise — the same waterfalls look pretty much today as they did a hundred years ago (minus the hulking factories that blighted the ones that were industrialized).”

“The Adirondack Waterfall Guide was my first book – I have written four more since then. If I could do it all over again, I would include many more waterfalls in the first book than I did, and I would call it “Adirondack Waterfall Guide – Eastern Section.” Then I would write the sequel, “Adirondack Waterfall Guide: Western Section.” (truth be told, I am working on just such a sequel now along with several other projects).”

“As a youth I was more interested in Anthropology (the broad study of history) than of the history of localities. This has changed somewhat in my later years. I have come to realize that in order to understand something – even seemingly as simple as a waterfall – you need to put it into a historical context. Hence, my zeal for history.”

“The answer is “no.” Rich & Sue Freeman, whom I greatly admire, have written a wonderful guidebook called 200 Waterfalls in Central and Western New York. I wouldn’t try to outdo them (and hopefully they will return the courtesy). On the other hand, it would undoubtedly be fun to write a book called “Waterfalls & Wineries of the Finger Lakes” – I don’t think that has been done yet.”

“I think the concern raised is a valid one. My wife and I were recently in China where they have a lot of people (1.2 billion to be exact, give or take a couple of million). It seemed that everywhere we went – even to temples of solitude – you would find yourself amongst 10,000 other visitors, so there never was a sense of solitude. The sacred places are literally being loved to death. This seems to be particularly true in some sections of the Adirondacks, like the High Peaks for instance, but not so much in the Catskills, Shawangunks, Hudson Valley, and Berkshires (which I have also written about). The irony is that if you love the wilderness to death, all you find in the end is what you left the cities to get away from – namely, more people and all of the noise and clutter they bring with them.”

“But to answer your question – yes, I would feel badly if some infrequently visited waterfalls began to be over-run (particularly if they became abused) by hoards of visitors or partiers.”

“Thank you for asking. Every year we host an annual weekend of waterfall hikes at Trails End Inn in the Keene Valley area of the Adirondacks. We have been doing it for 8 years now. Every year we fill up the inn during what typically is the “mud season” – a time of low occupancy — so the inn comes out ahead, and so do those who participate in the outings, for they get to see waterfalls pumped up to full volume by spring’s snow-melt.”

“We also lead history-oriented hikes in the Capital Region, be we can only manage so much without it beginning to cut into our time for writing and exploring.”

“New York State waterfalls may not be as big or high as some of the waterfalls out west, but what they lack in height they more than make up for in terms of their majesty and variety. In the springtime New York State waterfalls are thunderous and awe-inspiring; in the summer they turn into entities of rock and moss as well as water; in fall they are adorned by the glorious colors of autumn, and in winter they become glacier-like. Where could you find such variety and beauty anywhere else? New York State really delivers the goods.”

“My favorite waterfall is Kaaterskill Falls in the Catskills – a 231-foot, two-tier waterfall that has a fabulous history associated with it. When you stand at the base and look up at it, the fall is absolutely magnificent to behold. Historically speaking, it was one of the few waterfalls that were commercialized instead of industrialized. My favorite Adirondack Waterfall is Rainbow Falls (on a tributary to the East Branch of the Ausable River), although O.K. Slip Falls (very close to the Hudson River) would be a close second.”

“Water must be my motif. In 2010 Black Dome Press will publish my Kayaker’s Guide to the Capital District Region, but it will be a kayaking guide unlike any other that has been published. The guidebook will not only contain hundreds of river and lake accesses, but will go into tremendous detail about the incredible 400 years of history that accompanies each of the outings. In the end I guess you could say that history is the common denominator for all of the guidebooks I have worked on.”