Class IV rapids in the Royal Gorge flipped a raft in a very scary situation that separated a woman from her raft for several minutes.
Michelle Phelps, who contacted 7NEWS after posting video from the experience on YouTube, says she was overconfident prior to her weekend rafting trip. Now, she says, she is eating "humble pie."
"I'm a scuba instructor and a swimmer so I had an advantage, but I can easily see how people are not making it out alive," Phelps wrote in a message via Facebook.
Phelps recorded the flip with a GoPro camera mounted over her life jacket. About 1:22 into the YouTube video, the camera records the rafters' screams as a rapid overturns the boat underneath the Royal Gorge Bridge.
The camera continued to record as she floated down river on her back, occasionally dipping below the water. Around 2:57, she begins to encounter more white water.
At that point, Phelps wrote, "It wasn't fun anymore."
Class IV rapids are considered "advanced" on a scale that stretches from Class I through Class VI.