|
Winner of the Utah Book Award and the Evans Biography Award Dave Rust: A Life in the Canyons University of Utah Press, 2007 $29.95 / $19.95 "I count whatever money I may receive from any group of travelers as nothing, absolutely nothing, less than nothing, if they do not leave these breaks loving these gorges, these painted cliffs, and these dusty deserts." Dave Rust, 1929
|
Pioneering backcountry outfitter and Glen Canyon river guide David D. Rust (1874-1963) was one of the first individuals to recognize the potential of the Colorado Plateau Province for grand adventure. His guided expeditions across southern Utah and northern Arizona, which he conducted from 1907 to 1941, were a feast for the mind and senses. On trips ranging from the depths of the Grand Canyon to the remote red-rock lands of Utah, he introduced his clients to the region’s greatest geologic marvels and helped them comprehend the history and scientific importance of this stunning landscape. An early practitioner of adventure travel at a time when few Americans knew what wonders this region held, Dave Rust's life paralleled the development of southern Utah from a primitive frontier to a prized recreational destination.
Along with his father-in-law, Edwin D. Woolley, Rust built the first tourist trail across the Grand Canyon, installed a cable tram across the Colorado River, and operated a camp at Bright Angel Creek--the predecessor of today's Phantom Ranch. Educated at Brigham Young Academy and at Stanford, he developed a strong interest in the region's geology and history. He wore many hats, from schoolteacher and administrator to newspaper publisher and state legislator, but the canyons and plateaus kept calling him back. He treated his clients to weeks or even months of travel through primitive landscapes, ranging from the Navajo Reservation to the Henry Mountains. Stopping in tiny hamlets to provision, he led his clients to high overlooks to take in the panoramas of the desert and down to the Colorado River for a thrilling ride down Glen Canyon.
Along with his father-in-law, Edwin D. Woolley, Rust built the first tourist trail across the Grand Canyon, installed a cable tram across the Colorado River, and operated a camp at Bright Angel Creek--the predecessor of today's Phantom Ranch. Educated at Brigham Young Academy and at Stanford, he developed a strong interest in the region's geology and history. He wore many hats, from schoolteacher and administrator to newspaper publisher and state legislator, but the canyons and plateaus kept calling him back. He treated his clients to weeks or even months of travel through primitive landscapes, ranging from the Navajo Reservation to the Henry Mountains. Stopping in tiny hamlets to provision, he led his clients to high overlooks to take in the panoramas of the desert and down to the Colorado River for a thrilling ride down Glen Canyon.
|
Born into a dirt-poor Mormon family, Dave Rust's thirst for knowledge helped him rise above the limitations of the southern Utah frontier to become one of its prominent citizens and advocates for tourism. "No one could follow a blind trail better," one admiring client said of Rust. Many of the Eastern elite came to appreciate this devotee of rugged adventure in one of America's most rugged and fascinating regions.
Come ride the trails with Dave Rust and you'll be treated to a view of the Plateau Province that is scarcely possible today. photo courtesy of Mrs. Eldon Rasmussen |
Reviews:
"Although a college drop-out, Rust was a footloose intellectual who preferred to guide small parties, rather than squads of tourists, and on obscure trails of, say, the Escalante Wilderness, than on the paved paths of national parks. His textbooks were the mountains and canyons. Over his long career, he never strayed far from the Colorado Plateau. That was world enough for him." --Richard H. Dillon, True West
"Well researched and well written, with a real feel for the subject of the biography and for his life and times.” --Roy Webb, Colorado River historian and author
"Thoroughly researched and intelligently interpreted"
--Gary Topping, Utah Historical Quarterly
"Although a college drop-out, Rust was a footloose intellectual who preferred to guide small parties, rather than squads of tourists, and on obscure trails of, say, the Escalante Wilderness, than on the paved paths of national parks. His textbooks were the mountains and canyons. Over his long career, he never strayed far from the Colorado Plateau. That was world enough for him." --Richard H. Dillon, True West
"Well researched and well written, with a real feel for the subject of the biography and for his life and times.” --Roy Webb, Colorado River historian and author
"Thoroughly researched and intelligently interpreted"
--Gary Topping, Utah Historical Quarterly
Approaching the Crossing of the Fathers in Glen Canyon, 1922. Dave Rust knew Glen Canyon well, having worked its placer bars as a young prospector in the 1890s. The year after this trip, he would inaugurate the first guided river trips on this stretch of the Colorado River.
Photo by George C. Fraser, courtesy Mrs. Eldon Rasmussen.