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Very sad news from the Grand Canyon. Ioana Elise Hociota, the wife of Andy Holycross died in a fall in Owls Eyes Canyon. Our deepest sympathy to Andy and the families.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... -fall.html

A 24-year-old Tempe woman died Sunday afternoon after falling nearly 300 feet in a canyon northwest of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Ioana Elise Hociota was hiking with a partner in Owl Eyes Canyon on the south side of the Colorado River, according to National Park Service officials.

Her husband, Andrew Holycross, said Hociota had hiked in the area before, had a back-country hiking permit and was carrying a satellite phone.

Hociota missed a check-in call on Saturday. On Sunday, he traveled to their designated pick-up point where he met her hiking partner.

So awful to hear. 24 is far too young.

I met Andy and Ioana at a friends wedding a couple years ago, talked hiking & GC stories, she always had a smile on her face & loved the canyon.

Here is a more detailed close friend & hiking partners discription:

http://edhensley2012.blogspot.com/2012/ ... lling.html

@Kenny Thanks for sharing that. It's very sad....

I heard about this on the news this morning. So sorry for her family and friends.

Oh my...very sad. My thoughts go out to the family and friends.

Link to a Romanian newspaper for pictures.

http://www.cugetliber.ro/stiri-evenimen ... ion-123157

It is always sobering to hear about experienced, prepared hikers who still suffer for their sport. I know she will be greatly missed.

Kenny wrote:Link to a Romanian newspaper for pictures.

http://www.cugetliber.ro/stiri-evenimen ... ion-123157

Wow! Those were difficult to see. As we all look when below the rim, she was so happy and vivacious. So young. Each photo drove the point home just a bit more: like everyone with a passion for the Canyon, her face revealed her at-oneness with that sublime environment. She clearly loved the place. The happy wedding photo on the rim was very bittersweet. And the last photo of her scraped-up leg after a fall stopped me cold. It reminded me of several falls I have had and the close calls many of us have had. Below the rim we surrender to the majesty and to the dangers. Most of the time we only lose a toenail or a bit of skin. Sometimes we lose a lot more. I am very sad for the family and for her husband. Many people have not a clue why someone would devote such time and resources to risk the danger in the Grand Canyon. But there are a few of us that understand the value of that risk.

This fellow very young but died in his sleep the night before a private river trip, I heard:

http://www.standard.net/stories/2012/03 ... lees-ferry

That is another sad story, Liz.

Here's a newly-published review of this story. It's sad, but very well-written, and a worthy read.

http://www.azcentral.com/travel/article ... ciota.html

Excerpt:

Matthias Kawski walked the Canyon's edge, staring into the void. He scanned the hillsides and drop-offs and retraced his steps for a sign of his friend and hiking partner, Ioana Hociota. He moved high and low for a line of sight into the abyss, but found nothing.

Kawski had heard a few rocks falling, and the quick, sharp scream that followed, but had little else to go on. He searched until a heavy silence
and the truth settled in, until his legs felt like jelly and there was nothing to do but walk.

He walked nameless hills near the Grand Canyon's west end, across lonely ravines and boulder fields, over thin game trails that vanished into thickets of sage and Mormon tea. He struggled over talus slopes and looked for a break in the cliffs above, with nothing but his footsteps to break the silence.
Ioana Hociota was gone.

So sad... not sure how to put such a loss into perspective...

This is no less sad to read a second time. What happened to her is the sort of thing I fear most on the trail. Sometimes all it takes is one bad step or one loose rock.

Read it Sunday, very well written.
I took comfort in knowing it was a sudden passing (300 foot fall) and that she died doing what she loved.