BRYCE CANYON, Utah — An Arizona woman died over the weekend after getting caught in flash floods at Bryce Canyon National Park.
Three days before the start of regular classes, teacher Jeanne Howell set off for what she wrote in her planner as her “Adventure Weekend” in Bryce Canyon.
“My wife and I always joke that my mom doesn’t have frown lines. She has happy lines because she’s smiling so much,” said Howell’s son, Benjamin.
Each year, Howell had a goal to hike as many miles as the number of that year. For example, she hiked over 2,022 miles in 2022. Each year, she’d hit the mark with months to spare.
“She’d say, ‘We’re going to do 15 miles this day and 22 miles this day, so make sure you’re up at 4 a.m. We’re going,’” said Benjamin.
For every outdoors accomplishment, Howell would take a picture flashing the Utah Utes “U” hand signal — an ode to the city she grew up in and where she met her husband.
Benjamin said his mother was overprepared for hikes.
“Every three months she took a wilderness survival class. She had two different first aid kits with her,” he said.
She also carried two different satellite phones that she’d use to ping her family every half hour. The check-ins stopped mid-afternoon during her eight-mile hike around Fairyland Loop.
A storm rolled in and Howell did not survive the flash floods. Search and rescue crews recovered her body early Saturday morning in Campbell Canyon, a mile east of the trail.
“Flash flooding events, while definitely possible, are not all that common. Typically for flash flooding to occur in the park, there needs to be a very heavy rainstorm directly over the park,” explained Peter Densmore with Bryce Canyon National Park.
A rare occurrence that could surprise even the most experienced hikers.
Benjamin said he’ll always remember his mom’s adventurous spirit and contagious positivity.
“That’s what I’ll miss. You have a bad day, you call. No matter what it was, she was always happy to answer the phone,” he said.
