By Betsy Calvert
ecalvert@repub.com
Greenfield – We climb mountains to get to the top, so why not hit the trail in search of the waterfall?
Joseph Bushee Jr. offers practical advise as well as inspiration in his recently published book, “Waterfalls of Massachusetts: An Explorers Guide to 55 Natural Scenic Wonders”
Bushee, a Greenfield native and outdoorsman, said he got the idea about using waterfalls as a destination a few years ago. He saw books in stores advertising 50 hikes in this mountain range or 50 in that park. A computer network technician by profession, he decided to set up a waterfall Web site of his own. It is now called www.massfalls.com, and, last year the Web site started to become a book.
The paperback guide book is published by Amherst-based New England Cartographics. Editor Valerie Vaughn provides about 11 pages of introductory text about the geology, mythology and history of waterfalls. The rest is Bushee’s basics, maps and his photographs for each destination throughout the state, from Bash Bish Falls in the southwestern corner of the state to Powwow River Falls in the northeast corner.
The Web site number of falls is up to 75 now, Bushee said. The number of falls is impossible to guess, he said. “You’ll never find them all.”
Many are too remote while others are on private property. Following up on tips from friends and Web fans, Bushee is now expanding his territory to include neighboring states.
In defining what is a waterfall, Bushee said he is not a purist. The smallest he has included are 4- to 6-foot drops. He has included some manmade falls if they are from interesting stone structures. “It’s not just about the waterfall. It’s about the destination,” he said.
One thing you won’t find in the guide is advise about how to swim at the falls. “As far as I’m concerned, non of them are you supposed to swim at,” he said.
Bushee, who often hikes with his wife and 14-year-old son, does not let his children swim at the falls. Swimming is generally banned at well known sites, such as at Royalston’s Doan’s Falls. That doesn’t stop people from swimming – and drowning – there.
Dangers at waterfalls include the fact that the bubbly whitewater under the falls creates conditions where the swimmer is less buoyant. Also, Bushee said, waterfalls create currents that can suck the swimmer beneath underwater ledges.
He admitted, however, he sometimes sticks his head under a small waterfall on a hot day, only to feel muggy in his wet shirt on the hike back.
Bushee recommends hiking in May, when the weather is cool, the bugs are not out, but the snow is gone. He has visited many falls, however, in the winter, just to see the water frozen in a cascade of ice.
The longest hike in the book is a six-mile trek to Bear Mountain Falls in the town of Mount Washington, Bushee said. Many others are so easy, however, he said, you don’t even have to get out of your car.
Waterfalls are great places to have a picnic and great ways to get out and explore the outdoors.
The book is available at bookstores in Northampton, Amherst and Greenfield. The price is $15.95