I think most people actually remap to the ~ key, or if they're extreme they'll use tab. On my keyboard Escape already came as the ~ key and you have to use fn to access ~ or `.

The ergonomics of moving it closer far outweigh any benefits from it being physical vs touchscreen.

Remap caps-lock to escape and you're good to go! Or remap capslock to control and use Ctrl-[. Or use karabiner and remap capslock to control-when-held and escape-when-pressed-quickly.

AutoHotkey can do this "caps lock as both escape and control" thing too. I use this, from http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Map_caps_lock_to_escape_in_Windows :

  ; Author: fwompner gmail com
  #InstallKeybdHook
  SetCapsLockState, alwaysoff
  Capslock::
  Send {LControl Down}
  KeyWait, CapsLock
  Send {LControl Up}
  if ( A_PriorKey = "CapsLock" )
  {
      Send {Esc}
  }
  return

When I first started using Emacs, I used to joke that with all the various modifiers and prefix keys for escapes that it was just a generation away from needing foot pedals.

Or they use ctrl+c

Right. I've been a long time vim user and I don't really use the escape key while vim-ing. I use ctrl+c.

don't you mean toe pedal?