The Vapor Trail

Late summer, and Ramiro and I need an adventure. I’d been itching to ride the Vapor Trail for some time so I pitched the idea and a couple of weeks later we were off to Salida. What an adventure! This was one of the most difficult bikepacking trips I’ve taken, but the rewards were well worth it. After heading out of Salida you begin climbing, and climbing and climbing all the way up to over 13,000 feet at it’s highest elevation. Once there you are treated to two of the longest singletrack descents around, but not without a bit more climbing and of course a bit of hike a bike. It’s a super rewarding and fun route, check out all the details on Bikepacking.com at https://bikepacking.com/routes/vapor-trail/

This was also the trip I decided that my mini panniers would make the cut. I’d had them out on several other outings without issue but the Vapor trail sealed the deal. I was already impressed how they handled the first singletrack section on the Colorado Trail. The bike felt balanced and quick, for a loaded bike at least, and having the dropper available was certainly nice. However when things started to get real on the hike a bike up to the alpine tunnel they really fell into their own. Then came the big hike-a- bike up to the top of Canyon Creek Trail. That was really tough, but the panniers never got in the way and the terrain was loose scree and talus all the way up. It was the 20 plus mile, double black descent down Canyon Creek and then the entirety of Monarch Crest that really made up my mind. I didn’t have to think about my setup at all, granted I was too busy saving my ass and holding on for all my worth, the panniers held on without complaint. And huge kudos go out to Tumbleweed Bikes and their T Rack for providing a super stable platform to hang them on.

Stay tuned for a recap of my Gunnison fall color adventure soon, and the prospect of a new Humphrey XL.

Till then, Cheers

Scot