The Cult of Everett Ruess: Finding NEMO 1934; The Most Desolate Spot

Oct 22

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This is part 4 of the 4 part series over the inspiring and mysterious young writer, poet, amateur archaeologist, painter, traveler, wanderer, and adventuring vagabond for beauty that is Everett Ruess who explored extensively California and the American Southwest with his outstretched thumb, on the back of pack animals, and on his feet. He’d camp, hike, bushwhack, meet many famous artists and archaeologists, Navajos, Hopis, Mormons, bootleggers, and many a cowboy. He’d paint and write about the infinite beauty of the California Coast, the Sierra Nevadas, and The American Southwest. But at 20 years old, Everett Ruess would disappear off the face of the Earth in Southern Utah, in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Since then, a “cult” has risen up from his missing proverbial ashes. This “cult” pours over his writings, letters, poetry, and artwork which influences many of us to also write, explore, and see the beauty of nature that surrounds us if we look for it. Especially, in the American Southwest.

This fourth and final episode covers the mystery of his disappearance as four main theories begin to coalesce and pervade the sad but intriguing facts around Everett Ruess’s ultimate fate. His parents, brother, and everyone he ever made an impact on strive to find the answer to the mystery of what happened to Everett Ruess. Did he assume a false identity and run away to live with the American Indians? Did he commit suicide in the loneliest most desolate spot there is? Was he murdered by a renegade bad man? Or did he simply succumb to an accident? All of these theories and much more are poured over in this riveting and in depth examination of the past 90 years since his disappearance. Ultimately, the mystery may never be solved but at least he will inspire everyone who joins the cult of Everett Ruess to adventure in the wild and woolly wildernesses of the American West.

This series is more than a biography of Everett and his mystery, it’s also a reflection on the act of adventuring itself and why we do it despite the danger and the potentiality of death. It’ll make you grateful for your friends and family. It might make you sad. I promise it will choke me up a few times. But most of all, this retelling of Everett’s tale will absolutely make you want to tear off into the unknown and explore the American Southwest.

If you enjoy hearing about grand vistas, the challenge of adventure, resilience in the face of hardships and loneliness, if you like to listen to descriptions of beauty, and if you like a good mystery, this is the series for you.