The woman was running on the Coyote Trail above Utah Valley University’s Wasatch campus Monday evening, March 18, when things didn’t go according to plan.
Dry trails turned into mud, then snow.
According to Wasatch County Search and Rescue commander Kam Kohler, the woman thought she could cross through the snow and back to clear ground.
“And then it got up to her knees, and then it got up to her thighs, and so she was post-holing in two feet of snow, and that’s when she realized she was in trouble,” he said.
He said she had her cell phone and contacted rescue crews.
Search and Rescue used a helicopter to hoist her off the snowy ridge around 9:30 p.m.
Apart from some snow burns from trekking in shorts, the woman wasn’t injured.
Kohler said as the seasons change, people should keep in mind conditions can quickly change on the trails.
“Keep in mind that it feels like spring conditions out there right now, but they change in a hurry,” he said.
He advises people to plan for changing temperatures, plan how long they’ll stay out and always bring a cell phone.