Bottoms up!

With this year's runoff more like a slow bleed, it is easy to let one's whitewater guard down. But remember: flips and swims can happen any place at any time. Sure, the photos presented here are of the Animas River's historic peak flows of 2019 (in the ballpark of 7,200 CFS) where rapids in downtown Durango were crushing 16-foot rafts like tin cans. But doom still lurks for those who like to taunt the river while it's at an unassuming level. ESPECIALLY, if these cardinal rules of the river are broken: too much exposed bare skin; jeans; inebriation; loosely fastened PFDs; lily-dipping; and flip flops.