Įarlier in 1934, Ruess had told his parents he would be unreachable for nearly two months, but about three months after his last correspondence, they started receiving their son's uncalled-for mail. On November 20, 1934, Ruess set out alone into the Utah desert, taking two donkeys as pack animals.

Ruess had limited success trading his prints and watercolors to pay his way, and primarily relied on his parents' support. In 1934, he worked with University of California archaeologists near Kayenta, took part in a Hopi religious ceremony, and learned to speak Navajo. Ruess explored Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, as well as the High Sierra in the summers of 19. He rode broncos, branded calves, and investigated cliff dwellings. Starting in 1931, Ruess traveled by horse and donkey through Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado, exploring the high desert of the Colorado Plateau. In 1931, he served as vice president of the school's civic club. That year, he published an original poem in the yearbook, entitled 'Lonesome'. At Hollywood High School he served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Tabard Folk, the school's literary club. Everett took a creative-writing class at Los Angeles High School, and later won a poetry award at Valparaiso High School in Indiana. By 1920, the Ruess family was living in Brookline, Massachusetts, and by 1930, they were living at 836 North Kingsley Drive in Los Angeles. At 12, he was writing essays and verse, and began a literary diary that eventually grew into volumes, with pages telling of his travels, thoughts, and works. A precocious child, Everett began woodcarving, modeling in clay, and sketching at an early age. Everett's older brother, Waldo, was born on September 5, 1909. Christopher was a Unitarian minister whose work caused the family to move every few years. In 1934, he disappeared while traveling through a remote area of Utah his fate remains unknown.Įverett Ruess was the younger of two sons of Stella and Christopher Ruess.

He carried out solo explorations of the High Sierra, the California coast, and the deserts of the American Southwest. November 1934) was an American artist, poet, and writer.

Finding Everett Ruess by David Roberts