By Karen Risch

Deep in the dog days of summer, the Southwest Monsoon typically blesses the San Juans with a welcome series of cooler days and nights as clouds and rain from the northern highlands of Mexico move through the Arizona and New Mexico deserts and into the mountains. This year, the monsoon’s wetting the San Juans a bit later than usual, though it’s still very welcome.

From July through September, Ouray normally picks up 6.41 inches of rain (along with some snow). That’s 28 percent...