Davis Gulch is located about forty-five miles southeast of Escalante, Utah, down the Escalante River before it meets with the Colorado River. Before leaving Escalante, Everett was warned about the winters of southern Utah and the dangerous trek across Escalante Canyon. However, Everett planned to be home for Christmas, so these worries were behind him. He wrote and sent two letters before arriving at Davis Gulch, to his parents, Stella and Christopher, and another to his brother, Waldo. To his parents, he wrote that he would be unreachable for a couple of months, and would return before the end of the year, but to Waldo, he said that he would not revisit civilization soon, foreshadowing the uncertainty of his disappearance. When Everett did not return to Los Angeles by late December, Stella immediately sent him a Christmas card. However, one month later the card came back to Stella, and the heartfelt message now read “Unkown” and “Return to sender.”  Stella and Christopher’s first objective was to call up Escalante Postmistress Mildred Allen and ask if there was any information on Everett’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, Mildred had not heard from Everett, and neither had anyone else. Next, the Ruess family contacted every Postmaster across the Southwest in search of any sign of Everett but were met with no hope. Their third step was to contact all newspapers and radio stations in the region and ask them to spread awareness of Everett’s disappearance. The first newspaper account of his disappearance was on Valentine's Day, February 14th, 1935, by the Los Angeles Evening Herald, just over three months after he left Escalante. Everett Ruess was now officially missing.  In March of 1935, a man named Gail Bailey spotted two burros deep in Escalante Canyon at Davis Gulch. The trail to Davis was hard to access, meaning that Everett must have scaled the labyrinth of the carved desert to get to the bottom of the canyon safely with two burros, which posed challenges before when he lost a burro in 1932 while climbing out of Canyon del Muerto.  Searches for Everett began soon after Bailey’s report, one led by the Postmistress's husband, Jennings Allen. Found among his burros were some of his belongings, but not a diary, watercolors, or other supplies. After searches ended, the most significant marking left behind was a carving, “NEMO 1934” at the top of a Moqui trail–hand and foot holds carved into rock–next to a large pictograph deep in Davis Gulch. In 1963, The Bureau of Reclamation constructed Glen Canyon Dam, which quickly flooded the canyon, making it harder to search Davis Gulch for Everett Ruess. To this day there have been many rumors about Everett’s disappearance including a debunked case of his potential remains found in 2008. A quote from one of Everett’s letters summarized his final journey, “I’ll never stop wandering. And when the time comes to die, I’ll find the wildest, loneliest, most desolate spot there is.” Everett’s life ended in solitude, as he always wanted.

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Escalante, Utah, is a Mormon outpost founded in 1875, and named after Catholic Priest, Father Silvestre Vélez de Escalante. The town acted as a filter between the native lands to the southeast and the rest of the Mormon communities to the north. The town was all Mormon families, with most having the same last name and on average more than five children per family. Escalante’s residents followed the Mormon religion and morals since its founding sixty years prior to Everett’s arrival.

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Known as the gateway to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Kayenta, Arizona lies in the Navajo Nation just south of the Arizona-Utah border. Kayenta was founded in 1909 by John Wetherill first as a trading post and eventually was established as a township by the Navajo Nation in 1962. After spending a semester at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Everett traversed the Sierras in 1933. He made it clear to his brother, Waldo, that this journey in 1934 would be his last. After Waldo dropped him off, Everett spent the next two months exploring the region surrounding Kayenta. In a letter to Waldo, he wrote about his journey consisting of “Chin Lee [sic], Canyon de Chelly, the Luckachukais, and the Carrizos.” During this time Everett enjoyed the wilderness country, and experienced solitude, which he eventually achieved. During his third time in Canyon de Chelly, Everett foreshadowed his own fate when he wrote “I have been flirting pretty heavily with death” in a letter to a friend. Everett also stayed with Navajo families during this time, where he ate and hunted, making an impression that lasted generations. As the summer months approached, Everett recalled the crew of the Rainbow Bridge – Monument Valley archeological expedition near Kayenta. The expedition, funded by Ford Motor Company, aimed to provide field experience for explorers and survey the land for an attempted national park. He headed to the expedition’s camp near Skeleton Mesa, just west of Kayenta, and was hired by expedition leader Lyndon Hargrave of the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA) in Flagstaff. He began working in exchange for meals, rather than the $3.50 a day that the other explorers received. He thoroughly enjoyed this experience because he could work alongside intelligent individuals, discuss the Navajo culture, draw and paint, climb any rock desired, and enjoy the wonders of nature with a sense of companionship for the first time. Hargrave recalled Everett’s skill from when they met briefly in 1931 at Mesa Ranch Schools’ summer camp. He assigned Everett to work under the crew of Clay Lockett, Flagstaff resident and ethnologist at MNA. The crew spent their time excavating Skeleton Mesa, specifically Woodchuck Cave, which contained archeological remains and objects from as far back as 200 C.E. During the expedition, Everett and  Lockett bonded over their love for art and nature. After his disappearance, Lockett later wrote, “I had an excellent chance to really know Everett,” demonstrating Everetts's lasting impression. It seemed that Everett made an impression on everyone he met, especially on this expedition. Everett displayed his love for adventure again when a storm approached the canyon, which encouraged him to capture the rolling clouds in watercolor as they encroached. The young vagabond displayed his risky personality while perched at the edge of the slick cliff, hunched over to protect the precious watercolor of Mother Nature in action. Everett soon finished the expedition, paused in Kayenta, and headed south to attend the Hopi snake dance one last time.

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About a decade before his death, James Pierson Beckwourth recounted the events of his life to Thomas Bonner, which was published in 1856 as The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth: Mountaineer, Scout, Pioneer and Chief of the Crow Nation. Although historians have criticized the account for Beckwourth’s embellishments—especially his role in certain events—the account reveals incredible details of the African American Chief.  James P. Beckwourth had one of the most exciting lives among mountain men. Born on April 26, 1798, near Fredericksburg, Virginia, the son of Irish aristocrat Sir Jennings Beckwith and his mulatto servant, Miss Kill. In total, Miss Kill bore a dozen more children by Beckwith. Beckwith moved his family to St. Louis in 1809, where he could raise his mixed-race progeny as family.   When the family moved to St. Louis in 1809, Beckwith apprenticed James as a blacksmith with George Casner and John Sutton. Beckwith manumitted his son when Beckwourth turned 18. After a few years mining lead on the Galena River, James returned to St. Louis and joined the Ashley-Smith fur trapping enterprise in 1824. He attended the first Rocky Mountain Rendezvous on Henry’s Fork of the Green River on July 1, 1825. He was one of the first black men to enter and trap in the soon-to-be Utah Territory. Perhaps his most intriguing adventure was his journey to become a chief of the Crow Nation. On their way from the Rocky Mountains to the Yellowstone River, Beckwourth and his fur-trapping companion, Jim Bridger, left their trapping group to set out on their own for a few days. Beckwourth and Bridger split up at a river’s fork, planning to meet up after a few hours. Beckwourth followed the stream when suddenly he found himself surrounded by Crows. He had a long history of escaping from Indians intent to do him harm, but this time he knew he could not escape and pleaded for mercy. The Crows took Beckwourth to their chief Big Bowl, who mistook Beckwourth for his long-lost son, calling him a “great warrior.” This may have been a ritualistic adoption commonplace to replace loved ones lost in warfare. Beckwourth had taken part in many altercations with other tribes such as the Blackfeet and Cheyenne, enemies of the Crows. When Big Bowl heard about a warrior who had slain so many of his enemies, he adopted him. The people of the village celebrated and gave abundant gifts to Beckwourth, including a wife.  While his mountaineer friends believed him dead, Beckwourth started a new life as a member of the Crows. He participated in many battles against enemy tribes, mostly with Blackfeet and Cheyenne warriors. Beckwourth’s strength and courage in battle continued to impress the Crows and he lived up to his reputation as a great warrior. In one battle, the Chief Arapooash died, and the tribe unanimously elected Beckwourth as one of their leaders. Beckwourth helped found a trading post in Pueblo, Colorado, supplied miners in the California gold rush, and piloted a wagon road through the Sierra-Nevadas in 1850. He supplied miners in the Colorado gold rush of 1859. He was present at the tragic massacre of Black Kettle’s peaceful Cheyenne village at Sand Creek on November 29, 1864. He worked as an army scout. Some accounts report he died on October 29, 1866, but the details are unverifiable.

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With incredible height, diversity, age, and beauty, Pikes Peak towers above at an astounding 14,115 feet, making it one of the tallest mountains in the United States. Many, if not all, Americans have heard the moving lyrics to “America the Beautiful,” but few know that Pikes Peak was the inspiration for the song. Pikes Peak has long been the subject of ballads of beauty and adventure, as well as a symbol of hope and freedom for many throughout American history.  The peak itself has undergone a variety of “discoveries” throughout the different ages of settlement. Some of the first people believed to have discovered and lived near Pikes Peak were the Clovis people yet not much is known or recorded of their experience. However, the histories of many Native peoples’ lifestyles, religions, and legends centered around the peak. The Utes, or the Tabeguache, believed the mountain itself was a sacred site where the Great Spirit created the earth and where many ceremonies were held.  The Spanish were the first Europeans to discover the peak in 1779 and named it “El Capitán,” or “The Captain,” due to the imposing nature of the peak. With the completion of the Louisiana Purchase, the French sold vast tracts of land to the United States of America. In an effort to appraise the land and resources the United States had obtained, President Jefferson sent out several different expeditions to explore and record the areas. It was not until 1806 that Zebulon Pike, the first American explorer who dubbed the mountain Pike’s Peak, came to the Colorado area and attempted to hike the peak. The expedition failed to summit it because they were not prepared for the weather, and the peak remained an alluring call for explorers to attempt to conquer.  Pikes’ writing on his expedition, including the details about the imposing mountain, were published in several languages and widely distributed due to their fame and the public’s interest in the unexplored West. In his writings, Pike referred to the peak as the “the Grand Peak” or simply, “highest peak.”  In 1820, Dr. Edwin James made the first recorded ascent. Later in its history, a variety of media featuring Pikes Peak attracted settlers and spurred further western migration. The phenomenon started with miners and spectators with the discovery of gold and gradually drew more settlers with large plots of grazing land and a tourism industry. Pikes Peak influenced the early formation of American identity and still manages to inspire those who visit today.

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General Zebulon Montgomery Pike (1779-1813) was an American Army officer and explorer. His  expedition to the Louisiana Territory and subsequent books detailing his journey catapulted him into the national spotlight. His tragic death during the War of 1812 cemented his position in American memory. After his famous 1806 expedition, on which he attempted to climb Pikes Peak, Pike continued to rise up the ranks of the U.S. Army and, by the War of 1812, had reached the rank of Brigadier-general. As a general, Pike led the 1813 assault on York, the capital of Upper Canada on Lake Ontario. After successfully overrunning several enemy batteries, Pike and his men were awaiting the British surrender when  a huge explosion suddenly ripped through the air. The retreating force had ignited the fort’s powder magazine, which exploded and launched rocks, timber, and debris in every direction. A large piece of debris struck General Pike, ripped a hole through his back, and left him mortally wounded. After urging his soldiers forward, Pike was carried back to the Madison, an American ship, upon which he died with the captured British flag supporting his head.  For many years, Pike’s remains were kept at Sacketts Harbor in Canada, the site of his death. In 1948, the mayor of Colorado Springs and the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce petitioned to have Pike’s remains moved to the top of Pikes Peak. While the mountain bears his name, he never reached the top due to harsh weather and a lack of supplies. The Mayor’s hope was to move his body to the top of the mountain where residents of Colorado Springs would build a monument to commemorate his achievements and discovery of the mountain, which would bring millions of dollars to the city through tourism. Despite the approval of Pike’s descendants and the excitement expressed by Colorado newspapers and the Colorado Congressional delegation,  the decision rested in the hands of the Sacketts Harbor mayor and city council. This decision has been complicated by the controversy over which remains in the Sacketts Harbor Cemetery actually belong to Pike. After his death at the Battle of York, Pike’s body was transported back to Sacketts Harbor in a barrel of whiskey to preserve it until he could be buried. In 1909, the cemetery in which he was buried changed location and experts were only able to positively identify four of the 130 bodies found; Pike’s was not one of them. They assumed Pike's body occupied a metal casket submerged in whiskey, but when they moved the lid of the casket, it cracked and exposed the remains to the open air, disintegrating them. Regardless of the debate over whether or not the remains ever belonged to Pike, the Mayor of Sacketts Harbor, Carl Jackson, vehemently refused the petitions of the Coloradans. He said, "General Pike's been buried here for more than a century, and we mean to keep him here."  It seems Pike may never reach the top of the famous American peak that bears his name.

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The storied explorer John C. Fremont and his traveling companions initially documented their foray onto the Great Salt Lake with incredible optimism. While paddling arduously in their small rubber craft in 1843, they observed that, “Several large islands raised their high rocky heads out of the waves; but whether or not they were timbered, was still left to our imagination…”. When they explored one of the aforementioned “high rocky heads,”  they found  an island populated with sagebrush, bunch grass, and a surprising lack of fresh water. After a day or two, Fremont dubbed his discovery “Disappointment Island.” While surveying the Great Salt Lake for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1850, Captain Howard Stansbury, perhaps to Fremont’s chagrin, changed the name of the formerly disappointing island to Fremont Island. Stansbury noted that the plentiful bunch grass and brackish water would be perfect for livestock. In 1859, Daniel and Henry Miller demonstrated their agreement by moving flocks of sheep and some cattle to the island, which the locals then recognized as “Miller Island.” Seymour Miller, the grandson of Daniel and Henry, recorded some of his experiences as a de facto ranch hand for the family ranching business on Fremont Island. They kept 2,000 sheep on the island and ferried themselves and their stock back and forth on the Lady of the Lake, a boat designed by Jacob Miller, Seymour’s cousin. Keeping the sheep on a relatively small island (4.60 sq. mi.) led the Millers to conclude that they did not need a full-time herder on the island. Instead, they let the sheep run wild for most of the year, confident in the confines of the island. The sheep quickly went feral and became “wild as a deer.” This provided the Millers with some market advantage because “The meat of this flock tasted more like venison than mutton and would always bring a fancy price on the market when ordinary mutton could hardly be sold.” Unfortunately, during shearing and lambing seasons, these wild qualities caused numerous problems for the island herders. They would sometimes go a full day or two during round ups without successfully driving a single sheep into the shearing pens. During one especially eventful drive, Seymour and his companions cornered some sheep on a peninsular part of the island and “Rather than be caught, several of them took off into the lake. The last I saw of them they were still going.” Unfortunately for the Millers, their ranching operation did not last past 1885, when local lawyer Uriah Wenner took an interest in living on the island and began legal procedures to oust them and their flocks. The Millers were forced to move their herds to the mainland, where they continually lost woolies due to the sheep’s feral nature that befuddled conventional herders. In his memoir, Seymour concluded that “we never got a dollar out of them.” After Wenner and his wife died, possession of the island changed hands without remarkable business or improvement until 2003. For a few years, Fremont Island underwent a small stint as a hunting ground for exotic livestock and then changed ownership until it landed in the hands of the State of Utah.

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In 1776, two Spanish friars, Silvestre Vélez de Escalante and Atanasio Dominguez, chose to traverse the American West in search of a northern route to the missions of California. At the time, both Mexico and Spain claimed ownership of the territory. The journey became known for its historical success thanks to Escalante’s journal, which contains the first map of Utah. Beginning the exploration in Santa Fe,  Dominguez and Escalante observed and recorded landmarks that would help future explorers find their way. These recordings also helped governments know and understand the rich opportunities that lay in these lands. The journey was full of dangers for the small group, and they crossed many western states such as Utah, Colorado, and Arizona, among others. The explorers ventured through modern-day Dinosaur National Monument, down through Strawberry, Utah and eventually made their way through Spanish Fork Canyon. This path directly influenced the erection of Escalante’s Cross in Spanish Fork, Utah.  These two Spanish missionaries paved the way for other explorers such as John C. Fremont to encourage The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to one day settle in Utah. Escalante’s cross, located in Spanish Fork, was dedicated May 1, 1981, sponsored by The Knights of Columbus Father Escalante Council to honor Dominguez and Escalante’s expedition. It was recently restored on October 31, 2015 thanks to a member of the Woodland Hills Scout Troop’s Eagle project. The cross majestically overlooks the entrance to Spanish Fork Canyon and stands brilliantly white against the mountain range beyond.  Today, the site seems like an almost forgotten piece of history. However, one sign remains in the form of a plaque at the base of the cross. It has become a beloved hike here in Utah because of the landscape’s beautiful greenery and various paths leading from the cross. Escalante Cross stands as a reminder to Utah residents of earlier explorers who literally put Utah on the map. 

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More than two hundred years ago, Weippe Prairie was a major transportation and trade junction for the Nez Perce Nation. The prairie was simply called Weippe by those living in the area (Weippe being derived from the Nez Perce term Oyáyp). Weippe Prairie was also one of the main root-gathering grounds, with American Indians from different bands making the journey to Weippe to harvest the root qém’es, later called the “camas” root by explorers. On September 20, 1805, Lewis and Clark exited the Lolo Trail over the Bitterroot Mountains and entered Weippe Prairie. Clark took a scouting party and went ahead where they were met by Al-We-Yas, a Nez Perce village leader and the brother of Chief Twisted Hair. Al-We-Yas approached Clark’s group with caution. Unbeknownst to Clark, Chief Peo-Peo-Tah-Likt had strategically sent Nez Perce warriors to surround Clark’s group, waiting for any hostile movements. This is the first recorded historical meeting between Nez Perce leaders and US representatives. Al-We-Yas sent messengers to neighboring tribes announcing the coming of the Americans. This also represented a moment prophesied by American Indian spiritual leaders, which caused many chiefs and village leaders to make decisions concerning their relationship with the Americans. They debated whether to kill them or establish a peaceful and friendly relationship with them. Because Clark had made a favorable impression on Chief Twisted Hair and his son, the village leaders decided not to kill Lewis and Clark’s exploration group. This interaction was a pivotal moment in the life of Chief Twisted Hair’s son, Aleiya, who would later be known as Chief Lawyer. Chief Lawyer would go on to become one of the most influential advocates for an alliance between the US government and the Nez Perce Indians. Nez Perce were greatly generous toward Lewis and Clark’s exploration group. In addition to feeding the famished explorers, Nez Perce also provided geographical knowledge so they could navigate the Clearwater River. They also tended the expedition's horses throughout the winter while the group travelled to the coast and back. On September 24, the Lewis and Clark exploration departed the Nez Perce village and continued via dugout canoes on to the Pacific. The following year on their return journey in 1806, Lewis and Clark reunited with the Nez Perce on their return journey and stayed with them for up to seven weeks while waiting for the snow to melt in the Bitterroot Mountains.

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The Sulphur Springs area of the Missouri River was used by Lewis and Clark on their expedition. Meriwether Lewis’ journal recounted that Sacagawea took ill near these banks saying “our Indian woman sick and low spirited." Her “pulse were scarcely perceptible, very quick frequently irregular and attended with strong nervous symptoms, that of the twitching of the fingers” which worried the party because of her value on the journey as well as for the health of her baby.

Lewis noticed the Sulphur Springs and wrote that “the water is a transparent as possible strongly impregnated with Sulphur…” which he deducted was similar to the sulphur spring which he had been acquainted with in Virginia, his home state. He was familiar with their medicinal qualities and used the water to help in healing Sacagawea. Lewis administered treatments of the sulphur water for her to drink with poultices of barks and laudanum. The treatments had positive effects: “now the pulse had become regular much fuller and a gentle perspiration had taken place; the nervous symptoms have also in a great measure abated, and she feels herself much freer from pain. She complains principally of the lower region of the abdomen, I therefore continued the cataplasms of barks and laudnumn.”

Recent analysis of Sulphur Spring by geologists indicates that the dissolved minerals in the water may have restored blood electrolytes and aided in the treatment of Sacagawea, which was needed because Lewis had bled her and performed sweating to rid her of her illness. Ironically, Lewis’ other treatments might have caused more harm, but the sulphur water helped her recover in two days and the expedition continued their journey.

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