The 2007 Vapor Trail 125 is not a race

Starting line for 2005 Vapor Trail 125, just before Midnight, August 27, 05. Photo by Taf Darner

The 2007 Vapor Trail 125 is going to be an official ride, by invitation only. A ride will leave at midnight, September 8 from downtown Salida, and it will follow a marked course. There will be four aid stations. There will be no official timing, official results, nor will there be a fee to enter. We will ask that you make a donation at the end, either to help fund the post-VT125 barbeque or to help fund Salida Mountain Trails. Please check with us if you would like to join in.

If you have not done the Vapor Trail 125 before, we will be requiring that you submit a ride resume. If you are invited to join us, we will insist that you be available by early evening on the 19th to sign waivers, fill out the details for a free CORSAR Card (Search and Rescue), and submit to a basic medical check-in.

The Vapor Trail is a grand assembly of 125 miles of our favorite local backcountry singletrack and doubletrack. For 2007, the course has been modified to include quite a bit more singletrack than the 2005 course had. While you're out on the course, you'll circle three 14,000-foot peaks (Antero, Shavano and Tabeguache), see unmatched views from the Continental Divide, and roll through several historic mining and railroad ghost towns, all in the high thin air of the Sawatch Range. Portions of the course follow rail routes laid down by two railroad companies competing to reach the booming town of Gunnison in the 19th century, and another section climbs a roadway built by the prolific Otto Mears, the 'Pathfinder of the San Juans'. You'll ride the Colorado trail under the summer moon, cross over the infamous Alpine Tunnel at 12,000 feet as daybreak touches the tops of the surrounding peaks, and cruise the classic Monarch Crest Trail above treeline. 

As mentioned earlier, by popular demand we've adjusted the course this year, trading fire road for singletrack.  Now riders will put tires to dirt on the Colorado Trail before descending Silver Creek Trail, and finishing off with the northwestern terminus section of the Rainbow Trail (which reminds me of the old adage, "Be careful what you wish for"...).   This is a truly epic event in the best tradition of Salida trail riding, and a very, very tough and rewarding day in the saddle!