Albany native John Sasso’s journey to Adirondack authorship
By Holly Riddle
Fourteen years ago, Albany County native John Sasso began cultivating a love for the Adirondacks. What started in 2010 as an interest in hiking evolved into an interest in Adirondack history. Which has now given way to Sasso’s first book, “History and Legends of the Northern Adirondacks,” recently released by High Peaks Publishing in Jay.
A self-proclaimed independent historian, Sasso works as a GIS developer for U.S. Light Energy in Latham. In addition to researching Adirondack history in his spare time, Sasso is also a caretaker of the Mount Adams trail and fire tower.
While publishing a book was a relatively new idea for Sasso, the work behind the project took place over the last seven years. Sasso has written more than 150 papers on Adirondack history, many of which required months or years of research. “History and Legends of the Northern Adirondacks” features 26 of Sasso’s separate works.
“The book’s intention is to reveal more than what’s been divulged in the past 50 years of literature on the Adirondacks,” Sasso said. “The first chapter is the first major paper I published, on how the Marshall Brothers, Bob and George, established the Adirondack 46 High Peaks list.” He described a process that took roughly three years of research, trips to Adirondack Experience’s library in Blue Mountain Lake, and accessing papers at the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. He pored over letters between the Marshall brothers and Russell Carson and others from the 1920s, “getting an idea of not only how they came up with their list, but also the nature of their hikes, the peaks they did,” he said. “It was an eye-opening experience and I was finding that a lot of literature on the 46ers and the Marshall brothers and how they came up with the list was actually incorrect.”
The book not only covers the High Peaks, but also smaller, lesser-known mountains and trails, adding up to a compilation of information that fills in gaps of Adirondack research.
As for Sasso’s favorite inclusion, he points to a story about Mount Adams, admitting that he’s particularly partial to the peak given his role as caretaker. Within the book, Sasso digs deeper into the mountain’s namesakes, drawing connections between Elisha Adams and famous Adirondack figure and abolitionist John Brown.
From hiker to historian
While a press release from High Peaks Publishing mentions a planned series of books to follow, Sasso said he wasn’t sure when those would come about, though he has plenty of future content in mind. However, he stresses that the research doesn’t come quickly.
“I’m a stickler,” he said. “I won’t put something out unless I feel it’s accurate… I primarily reference historical records as opposed to referencing someone else’s work from 20 years ago…I’m a stickler for accuracy. Some papers I’ve worked on have taken anywhere from several months to at least three years…before I felt comfortable putting them out.”
So why put in all the work as an independent historian, with another day job and other interests to keep him busy? Sasso chalks up his dedication to a “drive” or “compulsion to find out more.” He mentioned that many are only interested in learning about a mountain’s namesake, but “there’s much more beyond that.”
“There’s a lot more to these peaks and what happened here, on the trails…” he said. “Was a peak leveraged for any historical survey…? Were there any interesting events that occurred? Were they leveraged for natural [resources]? Are there any Native American legends or folklore connected with the peak? If there are certain people connected with them, I try to flesh out their life as best as possible…”
“It’s that discovery and trying to make other people aware of it, through my writing,” Sasso concluded, that drives his commitment to Adirondack history.
“History and Legends of the Northern Adirondacks” by John Sasso is available at The Bookstore Plus in Lake Placid, as well as on Amazon. Sasso also oversees an Adirondack history-focused Facebook group, History and Legends of the Adirondacks and is a contributor to the Adirondack Almanack.
John’s book and his dedication to accuracy is unlike anything else I have read about the Adirondacks. In many ways it is similar to the writings of Russel Carson. He has been a huge asset to me personally in the maintenance of the Fire Tower and trail on Mt.Adams but what is not mentioned in this article is the amount of other volunteer projects he is also involved with like Lean 2 Rescue and Trail Work with the 46ers. Excellent read from an author who has physically visited every location researched.