Three dozen people, about a third of whom seem to have forgotten to pack their swimsuits, are soaking at 11,200 feet in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, near Aspen. They hiked 8.5 miles to get here, and the 103-degree water bubbling from below does miracle work on sore legs. But just as the party is getting going, the weather turns. People laugh when the rain starts, then cover their heads with towels and bags of wine when it begins to hail. A few claps of thunder are enough to send most scrambling for their tents.
The rain never lets up, and the party must wait for another night. And there will be another night, another party, at what is quite possibly the most crowded wilderness locale in Colorado: Conundrum Hot Springs. It’s a natural wonder in a stunning setting, quite possibly the last of its kind in Colorado, hot pools on public land with free, unlimited access. How long it stays that way remains to be seen. The U.S. Forest Service says it’s being loved to death, and officials are studying options to address the overuse, including an alternative almost unheard of in Colorado: reservations to visit a national forest.
Stewart Seeligson’s business education and diverse real estate experience set him apart from other real estate brokers in the Telluride region.