Family says woman who died in Great Smoky Mountains was ‘unique,’ ‘adventurous,’ amazing

Last summer at a family gathering in South Carolina, Ann Houghton, at 73, jumped off docks to swim in the lake with her seven great-nieces and nephews, explored barefoot in the woods and got stuck with them in the mud.

“When she was around the kids, she was present as often as I feel like a regular aunt would be — not a great aunt, just an aunt,” Adam Penney, one of Houghton’s four nephews, told the Citizen Times Feb. 16.

He and other family members recounted their love and memories of Houghton as a unique, amazing and generous person who loved hiking and the outdoors, big adventures and serving the underserved.

Houghton was found dead Feb. 2, on one of her many explorations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, according to her family and the National Park Service.

Her body was found about a quarter-mile off Enloe Creek Trail near Smokemont Campground in the Swain County area of North Carolina. Her vehicle was located at the campground.

Houghton, who lived in Sylva, was reported missing Feb. 1, according to the NPS. She had planned to hike in the park Jan. 28-29.

Law enforcement and several search and rescue groups began a search for her on Feb. 1 in the Smokemont area, focusing along Bradley Fork, Chasteen Creek, Hughes Ridge and Enloe Creek trails.

Houghton died of hypothermia, according to her death certificate.

Park spokesperson Katie Liming told the Citizen Times Feb. 7 that Houghton’s cause of death is under investigation, but “no foul play is suspected.”

Adam Penney said the family does not yet know the full details of what happened to his aunt and was told by the park service that they would need to file a Freedom of Information Act request for those details when the investigation is complete.

“It doesn’t matter how experienced you are,” said Adam, an experienced backpacker. “Anything can happen.”

Houghton’s hiking alone not unusual

Adam’s mother and Houghton’s younger sister, Nancy Penney, of South Carolina, said it wasn’t unusual for Houghton to hike alone and camp out overnight in one of the Smokies’ backcountry shelters. Penney said her sister wouldn’t normally tell her family, who all lived in other states, but would always let a local friend know where she was hiking and when she planned to return.

Houghton’s other sister, Amy Guthrie, of Florida, said the park service told her Houghton’s phone went “offline” right after she left the campground.

“She was on the trail, but she did not reach her destination,” Guthrie said.

The Great Smokies, which sprawls across a half-million acres of rugged, remote and forested terrain in Western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, is one of the most-visited national parks in the country, with some 13.3 million visitors in 2023. It contains more than 800 miles of trails.

According to previous Citizen Times reporting, the park conducts about 100 search and rescues each year. In 2024 there were nine deaths, Liming said, from causes including motor vehicle accidents, falls, drowning, suicide and “death by exposure.”

Liming said there was another death in the Smokies this year, in addition to Houghton’s. When asked for more information on the first fatality, she said the park could not release any details “due to the ongoing investigation.”

Life of adventure and service

Houghton grew up in Florida with her two sisters and older brother Eric Houghton. Guthrie said after Houghton earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education, she spent four years teaching on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, and then taught children with special needs in Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina.

“She was amazing with the children,” Guthrie said.

Her sister became fascinated with the beauty of Western North Carolina when visiting distant relatives and decided to move here to the mountains to be near the Smokies. She steeped herself in studying wildflowers and the woods, hiking every one of the more than 800 miles of the Smokies’ rigorous trails.

Houghton joined a Wednesday hiking club, but that wasn’t enough for her, Guthrie said. She hiked all the time on her own and completed her goal of hiking all 63 national parks.

“She would never have gotten to do what she did if she waited around for someone else,” Guthrie said. “She was a determined soul.”

Penney said her sister didn’t grow up hiking. She caught the bug after Adam thru-hiked the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail in 2001. Houghton decided she wanted to do it and started section hiking the trail in her early 50s during summer breaks. She finished in 10 years, Nancy Penney said. Houghton spent the past 20 years volunteering at the Smokies’ Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

She also maintained trails, worked on litter patrol and served as a Leave No Trace Ambassador. She logged 4,000 hours of volunteer service. In 2022 the park nominated her for a National Park Service George and Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service, according to an NPS news release.

“She died doing what she loved,” Nancy Penney said. “And that gives me some solace.”

Remembering Ann Houghton

A memorial service will be 10 a.m. March 1 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 26 Cattle Dr., in Whittier, open to the public. In lieu of flowers, Houghton’s family asks guests to consider a donation in Ann’s memory to Friends of the Smokies.

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Karen Chávez is Executive Editor for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Tips, comments, questions? Call 828-236-8980, email KChavez@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Woman who died in Great Smokies was loving aunt, adventurous spirit