On bagpiping in Yosemite

Ask a bagpiper what he did on vacation… or better yet ask a piper’s spouse, companion, girl friend, kids, friends or spouse what they did on vacation, and you’d probably not be surprised to find out that he or she played the pipes somewhere along the way. Much like the golfer, snow boarder, tennis player or runner who takes their fun with them, piper’s do the same. Through the years there have been many such getaways. Playing the pipes at the beach in Santa Cruz, Eureka or Santa Barbara, at the snow, in the mountains, Scout Camp, Church Camps has brought many great memories for me.  One of the longest traditions for me has been to bring the pipes along backpacking in Yosemite.

I remember years ago hearing bagpipes played outside the Yosemite Lodge in the valley. My wife Janet and stood spellbound listening to the piper play. I’ve no idea what he played as it was before I picked up the pipes. I hoped then that someday I could return the favor playing for others. I have carefully packed the bagpipes, strapping them to a backpack and played in the back country of Yosemite. My grown kids and I have backpacked every year but one the past twelve or so years. The stories are numerous so I’ll just share a few.

Early on a group of twelve men from church hiked from Tuolumne to Vogelsang, elevation 10,100 ft (3078 m) and played for the guys there, later playing at Merced Lake then on top of Half Dome. I’m sure people looked at me playing on the Dome (elevation 8800 ft) and thought I was crazy, but loved it. Playing at that altitude is not that easy, and the concert was short but sweet. Broken down, the pipes weigh close to eight pounds.

I’ve played the pipes by lakes and streams. One favorite time was last year with family and friends. We had hiked from the Cathedral Peak trailhead to Sunrise trail camp to Little Yosemite, climbed Half Dome and then down to Happy Isles in the Valley. We stopped for lunch at a pristine lake on the way to Sunrise, so pulled out the pipes and serenaded our group. The first night we stay at Sunrise which has always reminded me of Lord of the Rings land of Rohan in it’s beauty. Played pipes in the evening, this time entertaining the adjacent  High Sierra Camp. The next day it was on to Little Yosemite Valley hiker’s camp where I played a medley of tunes for the backpackers.

The only negative that I have ever received backpacking was from a Park Ranger. We had stopped for lunch at the bridge over the top of Nevada Falls. So I marched and played across the bridge. Just so happened that a ranger was nearby and felt my playing was too noisy and intrusive. As I finished my set, he approached me asking me to stop or he could issue me a ticket based on some obscure park regulation. I said I’d stop, much to the laughter of our party. Friends were able to capture Highland Cathedral on video.

If you play the pipes, take ‘em with you. If you hear ‘em, encourage the piper to keep playing!
Cheers, John B