Blue Lake EMT Missing After Hike in Trinity Alps
Daniel Komins sent this photo to his girlfriend Sunday. It shows two of the three other hikers that he met on the trail. The hikers are unidentified. [Photo used with permission of Carli Hollis]
His girlfriend and fellow EMT, Carli Hollis, told us that Komins went out to hike the Canyon Creek Trail and its surroundings. “He camped at Lower Lake the first night,” she told us. She said Komins was on Thompson Peak on Sunday. “I talked to him on the phone when he was on the ridgetop,” she explained.
He told her he had met up with three hikers (she doesn’t know their names) and they traveled together to the peak. Two are partially in the photo above. “There were three people with him that he ran into,” she told us. “I don’t know who they are. That is the last picture of him.”
The grey circle to the left of the red marker is Thompson’s Peak where Komins relayed the above photo to his girlfriend. He was supposed to camp that night back at the upper lake by Sawtooth Mountain and then hike, mostly off trail, to Sapphire Lake, according to Carli Hollis. [Graphic from Google Maps]
Monday, the next day, he had planned to head to Sapphire Lake. But she never got a call or even a “pre-made” message from his gps device giving his coordinates. She was a little concerned, “Usually he is good and sends info two or three times a day.” But, she said, she tried not let herself fret. “I felt like maybe he forgot,” she explained.
By, the next day, she and Komins’ mother were getting concerned. “Tuesday went by,” she said and she tried not to worry. She told herself, “Sometimes the service is bad. Hopefully we will hear something [the next day.]”
On Wednesday, she was very concerned, “It was really unlike him to not be in contact,” she told us so she called the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office. They checked and said his car was still at the trailhead.
Thursday, today, Komins was supposed to be at work. Deputies checked the trail head early. “His car was still there,” Hollis told us. “So they sent a six person ground team searching. There is a helicopter searching around the lake…They are looking in what they think is the right places now.”
Hollis said that the TCSO is reaching out to Garmin the maker of Komins’ gps beacon in hopes of learning something that might help them find him.
Meanwhile she is hoping that anyone who might have seen him on the trail will come forward. Komins is 34 years old, about 5’9″, about 150 pounds and wears glasses. He was carrying a blue backpack.
If you have any information, please call the Trinity County Sheriff’s Department at (530) 623-2611.
UPDATE: Missing Hiker’s Companions Located and They Know He Was in Good Health Monday Morning
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
I’m hopeful. The weather’s good. He’s only a day late so he probably has food. Certainly an injury will leave him worse for wear and he’s probably miserable, but he’s in a well-traveled area.
hola , I have been hiking and climbing in the trinity alps for almost 50 years — there is no trail from upper canyon creek lake to sapphire lake — the canyon creek lakes are in one glacial cirque , sapphire lake is in another to the east — theres a technical white granite ridge between them — no trail — not too many people attempt the traverse — above sapphire lake near mirror lake are some permanent snowbanks , actual pseudo-glaciers , the lowest snowfields in California , in real dry years they tend to disappear — cell phone coverage is usually nonexistent — bigfoot has been spotted in the alps , but worse is the trinity alps giant salamanders — these 6 foot salamanders live in the lakes and feed on deer and hikers — we hope this fellow makes it out ok — there is forest service wilderness rangers up there , sometimes , unless theres budget cutbacks .. GOOD LUCK !!
maybe not a trail, but there is a way just left of L lake up and over. its a step drainage on both sides. it is depicted on the Alps High Route map.
http://www.pbase.com/losthiker/image/55625310
You lost me on the six-foot salamanders. Maybe in Japan. Hope the hiker is OK. Solitary travel in the wilderness is very high risk. Yeah, I’ve done it, but got lucky. I hope this gentleman is lucky.
Utter nonsense. And it’s much more than ridiculous to satirize the plight of a missing hiker with the fallacies of cryptids – it’s hurtful and insensitive.
Absolutely zero credible evidence exists to suggest that a maneating salamander exists and to further suggest that such a fabled species might play in the disappearance and subsequent rescue operation underway is a deplorable narrative minimizing the gravity of this situation.
Please don’t make light of someone’s predicament in such a manner – he could be dead, broken, or otherwise incapacitated and in dire need of medical attention.
You took the words right out of my mouth! ?
Why is there only one comment, there were alot???
I know that area pretty well, at least 35 years well.
If headed cross country to Sapphire AND planned to return via Canyon Creeks, That is a lot of territory. it would be hard to get lost but injury and / or heat exhaustion could be a factor. I was just up there first week of Aug and asked myself WHY in the world I used to kill myself in that heat.
Hope he turns up or is found soon. Water is critical up there, pure granite.
What is wrong with you? This is somebody’s child, and my friend.
your humor will be better shared when he is found safe and sound, and not before
I’m the person in orange in this photo, we ran into Dan on the way up Thompson. He seemed competent and in good health and spirits. I’ve called the Sheriff and reported his stated plans (up to L lake, over Sawtooth ridge, and eventually out via Bear Creek). I hope he is found safely!
Thank you!
I’ve thought about that same route except from bear creek. Still snow this year, I suspect.
I last saw Dan at the Canyon Creek Trailhead parking lot last Saturday around 5:30pm as he was getting on the trail. He had told me his plan was to go from Canyon Creek Lakes to Thompson Peak, Mirror Lake, back up toward Kalmia Pass then to Smith Lake, Alpine Lake then down the Bear Creek Trail back to the Canyon Creek Trailhead. He had made it sound like he intended to be gone for up to 10 days in order to do that section of the Trinity Alps High Route, but I must have misunderstood what he was saying, or he may have slimmed down his ambitious plans. I did call the Sheriff’s office and tell them this, but if anyone is out there looking for him please check in those areas. I hope you’re ok Dan!
He was only trying to do a section of the TAHR.
Don’t mess with Sasquatch! Hope all is well buddy. Safe return
This one is freaking me out because I had made plans with Beth Harwig a Northern Californian Redwood State and National Park Representative to spread my wife’s deceased body ashes amongst the Redwoods. I had almost the same itinerary I was suppose to leave my home in Arizona on 8/11/2019 and head home on 8/14/2019 same dates. My name is also Daniel and my wife’s name was Sharon(1948-2019). I own two cats who became sick prior to the trip but my niece and her husband told me they would take care of the ashes so I stood home. My permit was issued for 8/13/2019 along Brown’s Trail in Six Rivers State Park and I handed it to my niece along with the ashes to handle. We where trying to set up a facetime session but there was no satellite reception so they took photo’s of the location and GPS location also for me to take a future trip up north. I will pray for Daniel’s safe return and the reason while I am posting this is because of the dates(itinerary) and my name is also Daniel but I am not 34 YO I am 65.