10th Annual Yosemite Sing Peak Pilgrimage 2022

Our first pilgrimage began on August 4, 2013 with a small group who, inspired by presentations and research by Yosemite Ranger Yenyen Chan, organized our first trip to Yosemite National Park.  Led by state park superintendent/environmental educator Jack Shu, we gathered at Wawona to plan trips to discover the Chinese American heritage of Yosemite and to honor Tie Sing, the legendary mountain chef whose culinary skills contributed in no small way to the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916.

Since 2013, our pilgrimages have led us to many paths of discovery, and have increased the public awareness of the important role of early Chinese Americans in the mountains.  Chinese workers built long access roads (sometimes in the winter), worked in timber operations, grew food for the hotels and local population, ran the kitchens in the hotels, and washed the hotel and restaurant linens.  In later bulletins, we’ll discuss more of the progress made, such as the October 2021 ribbon cutting for the Chinese Laundry Building, in recognizing Chinese Americans in Yosemite.

This years pilgrimage will be centered at the Lee Vining Community Center. On Friday morning, July 29, we will meet Ranger Yenyen Chan at Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center for a history walk along an easy trail through Yosemite’s scenic high country and across the Tuolumne River. On Friday afternoon, choose from one of the following options: Easy: John Muir Trail to Twin Bridges from Dog Lake Parking lot – 1 hour roundtrip; Moderate: Bennettville Trail from across Tioga Lake Overlook parking area – 2.5 hours roundtrip; More strenuous: Hike to the top of Lembert Dome from the Dog Lake Parking lot – 2.5 hours roundtrip. Join us for a campfire gathering hosted by Bak and Karen Jong at Lee Vining Community Center at 5:30pm.

On Saturday morning, July 30, we will meet at Olmsted Point, located past Tuolumne Meadows to take in the glacially carved lake, valleys, and domes, and a view of Half Dome and Clouds Rest in the distance. We will leave Olmsted Point and carpool to the May Lake trailhead parking lot for history of the original Tioga Road (aka “The Great Sierra Wagon Road”). Hike to May Lake and back. 3 miles roundtrip, moderately strenuous. Bring lunch to eat at May Lake. (3.5 hours). At 3:30pm at the Lee Vining Community Center, illustrator Rich Lo will give a talk about his artwork for the book “Mountain Chef” about Tie Sing and the Mather Mountain Party, and about his personal journey as a Chinese American artist. At 4:30 PM, Chef David SooHoo will give a cooking demo and history of Cantonese cuisine cooking. At 5:30 PM, we will have a potluck, sharing “Something I learned to cook from someone older than me”, such as a parent, older family member or neighbor.

On Sunday morning, we will meet in front of Yosemite Valley Visitor Center for an easy walk led by Ranger Chan and learn about the Chinese who contributed to Yosemite’s early park history in Yosemite Valley. Saturday afternoon, we will drive to Wawona to visit Yosemite’s Chinese Laundry Exhibit before heading home or out of the park for another evening of accommodations.

The hike to Sing Peak will begin on Monday, August 1 and return on Wednesday, August 3.