Backpacking Mt. Watkins, Clouds Rest, and Echo Valley in Yosemite National Park

[@thebigflabowski728]

awesome video! Heading to YNP for next years backpacking trip and this looks like a great hike

[@gladyssanchez7832]

Beautiful video , enjoyed it very much ! Ty

[@cherrybombb_]

This is incredible! I also cannot emphasize how much I appreciate the time stamps and the AllTrail route link in your description. Thank you!

[@wellseasonedhiker]

Stunning Work! I've watched dozens if not hundreds of backpacking videos and this has to be one of the best. WELL DONE!!!! Can't believe you only have 62 subs.

[@baranarslan8604]

Very nice footage! Inspiring!

[@jcarceo_]

Amazing work and an awesome trip!

[@Diggler23]

There is such a beauty to this short film. I can't even describe it. Powerful! Great job! Wish I could do something like this in my lifetime.

[@jaronballou]

Thanks for the kind words, glad you enjoyed it!

[@STR8PERF3C710N]

I basically never comment on KZbin videos, but this video was so good! Yosemite is on my travel list, and this made me want to experience it even more!

[@petesteck]

Epic…so glad I stumbled upon this video. Beautiful work

[@CharliePankeyValetmarketing]

Great loop. Loved the video

[@gregskolozdra]

Beautiful! The cinematography is superb! Thanks for sharing.

[@Mike_Blanda]

Wow! Great video and well made…. Tons of work going back to get the camera and lots of thought into placement 👍

[@InfamousMS]

Great video and trip. Thanks for sharing!

[@WhatShouldMyHandleB]

Thanks for the video, it helped me figure out a similar itinerary to get in cloud rest and half dome!

[@27ftWhaler]

A Mt. Watkins campsite is one of the best views in the whole park!

[@jaronballou]

It truly is! Getting there in the dark with no sense of our surroundings, and then waking up the next morning to that view was a highlight of the trip

[@cptmrpants]

@@jaronballou Can the ground on Mt. Watkins take a stake or do you just hope the weather is calm?

[@jaronballou]

@cptmrpants we had no problems staking in our tents. The ground is mostly fine gravel that goes deep enough for a stake

[@Delkb89]

This was such a beautifully produced video-and I'm so inspired for an upcoming trip to Yosemite to soak it all in like you two did. Cheers!

[@jaronballou]

Thank you! Enjoy your trip!

[@FeatherstoneOutdoor]

Loved the video! Hope you enjoyed the trip with the UL Granite!

[@jaronballou]

Yeah, got the tent as a gift for my bro before the trip. Worked great for him!

[@Dad_rizz]

This is one of my favorite Yosemite backpacking trip videos! The views are amazing and everything was captured so well! Which month did you and your brother go on this trip and how was the weather during the day and night? That opening scene looked like there was smoke from forest fires. Also curious about what gear you were using.

[@jaronballou]

Glad you enjoyed it! We went in the second week of August. Wildfire smoke was present, but not too noticeable after the girst morning at glacier point. It was quite hot in the valley (90's), which made the climb up to Mt. Watkins tough. Once higher in elevation I think it probably hit 85 mid day and about 60 at night. This was shot on a Lumix G9, using the Leica 12-60mm for most of it, but also a 25mm f/1.7 and Laowa 7.5mm f/2.0

[@Dad_rizz]

@@jaronballou Awesome! I should have been more clear haha what backpacking gear where you using? I've been slowly getting some gear to start going on annual trips. I've only went once and loved it!

[@jaronballou]

@BRizzi oh, my mistake! Most of the gear on this trip was what I'd had for quite a while. My tent (Big Agnes Seedhouse), Bag (Sierra Designs Pyro 15), and pack (Osprey Atmos) were all close to 10 years old. Used most of it on many trips since 2010ish, and served me well. I've since replaced much of it, in an effort to lighten my load. New pack is Osprey Exos 55, pad is nemo tensor wide, and replaced the bag with a Sierra Designs Nitro 20 quilt. All have been great. Also got a new tent for this year, Gossamer Gear The One. Won't have a chance to test it out til first trip this May, though

[@rkatrails]

Great camera work, you really captured the essence of the beauty of the park. That looked like a fantastic route you chose to follow. I think you started off at the Snow Peak trail, but I'm not sure which part of the film shows Mt Watkins. I want to hike North Dome this summer and also Mt Watkins, a place I've always overlooked.

[@jaronballou]

Our first night's camp was on top of Mt. Watkins. Hiked up snow creek, and got to camp in the dark. First morning at camp is on Mt. Watkins looking at half dome. We thought about north dome as well, but saved it for another trip. Glad you enjoyed it, and have a great trip!

[@nvrsne1670]

Such a gorgeous video! ❤️ how did you manage to camp along the route? Every time we look up camping in Yosemite we only find information about campgrounds, but we really want to do a long trail and camp as we go

[@keegancherry]

Stunning trip and very well captured, thank you! Curious if this was done in September near the time of publication or completed at a different time from that summer?

[@jaronballou]

Thank you! Our trip was August 11-14

[@keegancherry]

@@jaronballou awesome! My wife and I are planning a very similar route to this during the same dates this year. This gives us perfect context to possible conditions at that time. Thank you :)

[@thebigflabowski728]

Amazing hike! We just secured Mirror Lake Snow Creek trail for 8/11/24 and will be doing by a similar hike. We were considering skipping echo valley and possibly doing a zero day up at sunrise lakes before we descend back to the valley. Is Echo Valley worth the miles?

[@jaronballou]

I think that would be a great option. Echo Valley is sort of a mix. I'd say that the hike after clouds rest to our Echo Valley campsite was probably our least favorite portion of the route; it's mostly a burn section and we had very hot weather that afternoon. There's also no water that time of year from the base of Clouds Rest to the camp where we stayed in EV, so with that and the heat we had to carry about 8 liters extra, making it more challenging. On the other hand, the hike from the EV campsite on the last day down through Little Yosemite Valley was one of the highlights for us. I think skipping the EV portion is certainly reasonable, and a zero day at sunrise could be great with some nice day hike options (cathedral lakes, or maybe do clouds rest without full packs and then bypass it on your last day).

[@thebigflabowski728]

Thanks so much for the feedback! This is exactly what I was thinking when it came to that zero day. Clouds rest without packs sounds perfect. We will likely do that and then bypass and head straight to the valley via JMT for our final night. If we get there early enough and setup camp we could day hike some of the valley without packs as well. @@jaronballou

[@joekamal6351]

Attempting very similar route in October. How long did it take you to get from mirror lake to mt watkins? Great content!

[@jaronballou]

Thank you! So, it took us quite a while (approx 8.5 hours to do 8 miles). My bro was struggling a bit with the heat and gradient. We started in the middle of the day in early August, and valley temps were in the mid 90's. Needless to say, we took many breaks! I would expect it to be more manageable in October, and I think solo I likely would have finished in 5-6 hours. It's definitely tough though. The hike out of the valley on snow creek trail is perhaps the steepest in Yosemite. I've done four-mile trail and Yosemite falls trail, and snow creek was definitely a step up in difficulty. Good luck, and have a great trip!

[@Chiefarndt]

Great video! We’re planning a father and son(s) backpacking trip to Yosemite - thanks for sharing the AllTrails map! What are the two tents you have? (Have an older BP tent - looking for a newer one) Happy trails!

[@jaronballou]

Thank you! My bro has a Featherstone UL Granite 2. It's worked great for him on a few trips now. Not the lightest, but a good budget tent i think. I actually have a 10+ year old Big Agnes tent. I think it's the Seedhouse 2p. It's been flawless through dozens of nights out on the trail. Not sure they make it anymore, but any similar Big Agnes lightweight tent would probably be equally high quality. I've been thinking about upgrading too, and had my eye on the nemo hornet as a possibility. Enjoy your trip!

[@benaffermick1796]

Exceptional work, looks like a beautiful place. I would love to visit there one day. What camera/lens did you use to shoot this? Fantastic colours and quality.

[@jaronballou]

Thank you for the kind words! I used a Panasonic G9 with a few lenses. I'd say about 90% was shot on the Leica 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0

[@Davespates]

Great video. So sick you saw a bear! What lens did you use?

[@jaronballou]

Hey thanks man! I mostly used the Leica 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0. Also had a panny 25mm f/1.7 and the laowa 7.5mm f/2.0

[@mikaelaaradi6841]

Looks awesome! What time of year did you do this?

[@jaronballou]

Thank you! We were there the second week of August last year.

[@im_denial]

you were lucky to do this before glacier point closed :(