Bements arch - Davis Gulch
Bements arch in Davis Gulch. Near here, Everett Ruess, the young artist who disappeared in 1934, carved one of his peculiar "NEMO" messages in the rock.
UPDATE: It now appears that Everett Ruess's body and artifacts have
been found on the Comb Ridge over on the Navajo Indian Reservation
west of Bluff, Utah. Read David Roberts story in the April issue of
National Geographic Adventure magazine. If the story holds, then Davis
Gulch was not the last "campsite" of Everett and his two
burros. OMT
May 1, 2009
UPDATE - REVISED: Back to square one. Upon additinal tests run on the remains found on the skeletal remains found on the Navajo Reservation, it has been determined that those remains are NOT those of Everett Ruess. The article corrected the earlier findings appeared in The Denver Post 10.23.2009 and was written by Tom McGhee. Perhaps it is better this way, after all, it how he lived and not how he died, that is the most important story. OMT 25NOV2009 (Thanks John for keeping me up to date).
I left my Ecalante, Utah motel room (The circle D) at 5 am (Washington time) and made it the 52 miles of bone jarring miles on the Hole In The Rock road by around 7:45 am.
At 8 am, parked below fiftymile point, I shouldered my day pack and heaed N.E. cross country well back from the side canyons of Davis Gulch (to avoid contant detours).
I followed rock outcroppings to the cairn marking the way down into Davis Gulch. There is brush and beaver dams along the floor of Davis Gulch and I decided it would take me too long to hike down into the canyon; up to Bements arch; then retrace my route.
So, I decide to take a leisurely hike along the west rim of Davis Gulch and view and photograph it from the canyon rim. The slickrock hiking was a pure pleasure compared to the soft sand hiking I had done on the way in.
My motivation for this hike was historic as much as a desire for scenic desert beauty in a remote location.
The stories of Buzz Holmstrom; the disappearance in the Grand Canyon of Bessie and Glenn Hyde on a sweep boat trip down the Colorado River in 1928; and the disappearance of a young romantic and artist named Everett Ruess in November of 1934 in Davis Gulch - - have always fascinated me. I wanted to see where their stories took place.
The hike along the rim was wonderful and when I got back to my pickup truck below fiftymile point it was actually a warm day for November. I had an ice chest full of cold IBC root beer waiting for me at the truck.
I didn't look forward to the 52 mile rough washboard road route back out, but I took it slow.
Then over halfway back I ran into a young couple from Holland who had buried their rental vehicle in the soft sand of the Spooky canyon road.
Working hard together we were able to free their rental pickup truck in about an hour of hard work. They were a really nice young couple and it felt good to be able to help them out.
I made it back to my motel room a little after dark, quite tired and content. The next day I left before sunrise and made it back to my wife and home in Eastern Washington by 9:30 Sunday night. OMT
Here are three books that I highly recommend if you want a sense of the fascinating history of the Colorado and Escalante River area:
THE DOING OF THE THING by Welch, Conley and Dimock.
SUNK WITHOUT A SOUND by Brad Dimock
EVERETT RUESS by W.L Rusho
Comments and faves
54vintage and GEO M I added this photo to their favorites.
GEO M I (28 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Rockforms, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
I thought this looked like a wild horse, neighing! Nice shapes!
oldmantravels (28 months ago | reply)
GEO - - a rock frog on top ot the arch extending his tongue down into the canyon. OMT
t.m.schultze and eskie2008 added this photo to their favorites.