{"id":33473,"date":"2023-06-06T21:50:51","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T03:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/novice-rafters-tubers-advised-to-take-precautions-this-season-on-rivers\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:10:13","slug":"novice-rafters-tubers-advised-to-take-precautions-this-season-on-rivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/novice-rafters-tubers-advised-to-take-precautions-this-season-on-rivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Novice rafters, tubers advised to take precautions this season on rivers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Spectators
Spectators watch as a competitor surfs during Animas River Days 2023. (Leah Veress\/ Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

It was one of the first rafts to come down during last weekend\u2019s Animas River Days parade. The raft flipped at Santa Rita hole, sending Ted Holteen overboard minutes before his group planned to pull out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had come through Smelter just fine, all happy, and you let your guard down for a second,\u201d he said. \u201cIt only takes a few seconds, and BOOM, I was under water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holteen, who is spokesman for La Plata County government, said he was under water for about 20 seconds, but it felt like hours.<\/p>\n

The Animas River still has high water levels, cold temperatures and fast currents. River safety experts and river users stress the importance of practicing water safety during this season of high runoff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWear your life jacket and pay attention; the river does not (mess) around,\u201d Holteen said. \u201cI\u2019m a big strong person and I swim very well, and it threw me around like a rag doll.\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as river safety goes, life jackets seem to be the holy grail.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing is a life jacket or a personal flotation device that is appropriate for the river and that fits properly and is in good repair,\u201d said Thomas Streissert, a member of the La Plata County Swift Water Rescue Team.<\/p>\n

PFDs also serve as an insulating layer, which is important during extended periods of time spent in the cold water.<\/p>\n

River temperatures remain below 50 degrees, and Streissert urges river users to dress warmly.<\/p>\n

\u201cCold water can drain your muscles and diminish their ability to function,\u201d he said. \u201cDressing appropriately may mean (wearing) a wet suit or a dry suit. People should be prepared to swim and not assume they\u2019re going to be dry and stay on their boat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rafts and boats capsize frequently, discharging passengers into the river where they can collide with rocks or debris.<\/p>\n

Makinley Kate Hargrove, a freestyle kayaker from Columbus, Georgia, said she never gets into her boat without a PFD, helmet and river shoes. If she flips out of her boat, her gear mitigates the risk of injury.<\/p>\n

Hargrove was first drawn to Durango in 2021 by the Animas River Days competitions.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The river) is so much higher than it was two years ago,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been going up and down for the past two days, so I\u2019m really excited to see where its going to be on competition day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, the Animas River was running at 4,800 cubic feet per second. Since then, Ron Corkish, La Plata County Search and Rescue mission coordinator, said it has dropped to 2,600 cfs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the water (levels) change this much, you get a whole different river,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Pre-scouting float routes and rapids is another way to practice river safety, said Scott McClain, assistant parks director for Durango Parks and Recreation.<\/p>\n

While Parks and Recreation does not have any jurisdiction over the Animas River, the organization works to educate the public about potentially dangerous river conditions and safety precautions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe pay attention to the river and give people a heads up that the river level is high and there could be concern,\u201d he said. \u201cThat level of concern is going to be different for everyone, and people need to decide what they\u2019re comfortable with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comfort levels should be determined by personal experience on the river and an assessment of the water conditions. Streissert said is critical to plan recreational activities with the nature of the river in mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe water is very high and powerful and very cold, and it\u2019s not the time to be out in an inner tube in swim shorts,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is the time for somebody who really knows what they\u2019re doing or going with a professional guide. Later on in the summer it will be the time for playing with tubes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Streissert said if a person is uninformed or unsure about getting on the water, they can take a guided trip where someone else is providing the expertise or the equipment.<\/p>\n

Local outfitters also offer river safety courses to people for recreational and commercial river use.<\/p>\n

Through courses, experiences on the rivers and a shared love of the Animas River, commercial companies and recreational river users have formed a strong relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen individuals that are recreating find themselves in a less-than-desirable position, river guides and commercial companies in this area will render aid and assist people in need,\u201d Corkish said. \u201cThere\u2019s a pretty tight river community in this area.\u201d<\/p>\n

River safety is an individual goal fueled by a community effort to educate, listen and learn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re new, don\u2019t go without somebody there to help you,\u201d said Leah Johnson, a Durango resident who has floated and surfed the Animas River for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about being friendly,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThe river is a place to get stoked and everybody needs to watch out for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

lveress@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

experts advise people to use life vests and water shoes, and scout routes before committing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[304,28,1834,1807,1799,1569],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-33473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-animas-river","tag-headlines","tag-kayaking","tag-la-plata-county-search-and-rescue","tag-rafting","tag-river-use"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33473"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82215,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33473\/revisions\/82215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33473"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=33473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}