Lost and Found: Echoes Through Escalante

I didn’t plan on writing about Everett Ruess. At least, not for as long as I did.

But once you start digging into his story, it’s hard to stop. Here was this twenty-year-old kid who wandered into the canyons of Escalante in 1934 and never came back. A young artist, obsessed with the wild, swallowed by the desert without a trace.

Davis Gulch, Utah. CREDIT: Lon & Queta

But the story is bigger than that. It’s about obsession — his, mine, and everyone else who’s tried to figure out what happened to him. It’s about how legends grow out of blank spaces on a map, and how a mystery can pull you in whether you like it or not.

I pitched this story more times than I care to admit. Rejections piled up. “Not the right fit.” “Not what we’re looking for.” I thought about walking away from it a few times, but the story wouldn’t let me go. And then Owen at The Outdoor Journal gave me the green light. He didn’t just want the clean, polished version — he wanted me to really dig in.

So I did. I went down every rabbit hole. I talked to archaeologists, historians, and distant relatives of Everett. I learned about dust devils and bones, about legends that twist around the truth. And I tried to get to the heart of why this story won’t die.

“Echoes Through Escalante” is the result. It’s not a neat, tidy narrative. It’s a story full of loose ends and unanswered questions. And maybe that’s the point.

You can read the full piece here: Echoes Through Escalante.