Almost 20 years ago, back in what she calls her “nomad, ski bum, vagabond, climbing days,” Katy Nelson heard someone speak of a magical place in Colorado’s Rockies.

“I remember someone telling me there’s this hot spring called Conundrum way up in the mountains,” she said. “Then I remember reading a description of it and thinking, ‘I couldn’t get there and back in a day.’”

One might be more tempted nowadays — one out of luck when it comes to a campsite at Conundrum Hot Springs.

Nelson is now the wilderness and trails program manager for the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District. Since 2018, she’s overseen the reserved permit system intended to cap individuals and small groups to 20 per night at the steamy pool perched high in Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, at the end of a trail stretching 8½ miles over 2,500 vertical feet.

The permits came after years of rangers observing massive crowds around the small pool. The ground was trampled where flowers once grew, and trees were cut for illegal campfires.

“And everyone’s favorite topic,” Nelson said. “Poop and human waste and how people were managing that or not.”

Since the permits, she said Conundrum Hot Springs has returned to a cleaner, more pristine state.

But “there’s always trade-offs,” she said. “It’s not lost on me how we now have a limited system, and not everyone who wants to go can just run up there.”

Indeed, the permits sell out fast. For coveted summer weekends, “within minutes,” Nelson said.

Permits are released on a rolling basis at Recreation.gov. For the suggested months of July through September — when the long hike in via Conundrum Creek Trail is snow-free — campsites become available to book the mornings of Feb. 15 and June 15.

Wanting a spot for August? At last check at Recreation.gov, your chances looked slim to none. Your chances looked better for a September weekday, though not by much.

Or you might look to an alternative.

That’s what Gazette photographer Christian Murdock recently did in charting a course that comes with several cautions.

It also comes with pictures of a lesser-viewed approach to Conundrum Hot Springs. We’re publishing the pictures here — for the enjoyment of those who may never dare Murdock’s trek.

Instead of the popular, often-full parking lot near Aspen, he eyed a route from the opposite side of the Conundrum Creek Valley: from Crested Butte. At the parking lot for Judd Falls/Copper Creek Trailhead, Murdock set out for Copper Lake with a 50-pound pack that included his camping and photography gear.

He proceeded to a designated campsite at Copper Lake. Reservations are not required there, as is the case for many lakes and scenic areas that have come under the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness permit zone in recent years.

Murdock then roamed up to the scree fields of Triangle Pass near 13,000 feet and down to Conundrum Hot Springs. He made the long, rocky trek back to his campsite at Copper Lake and returned to his vehicle the next morning — a journey covering two nights, 20-plus miles, several creek crossings and close calls with high-altitude hail.

Murdock saw personal and professional benefits away from Conundrum Hot Springs’ primary route: more alpine beauty to shoot, far fewer people.

Yes, he was without a permit and wanted to shoot the hot springs finally after 25 years in Colorado. But for anyone perceiving his trip as a “work-around,” he offered a warning: “If you don’t have experience in the high mountains, you may not want to do that.”

You might come to the conclusion Nelson came to years ago as a fast-moving nomad: She was not about to out-and-back the isolated hot springs in a day.

“Is there a great work-around? The answer is no,” she said.

Her advice for eager soakers: “Wait and get a permit and enjoy it for what it is.”

And in the meantime, enjoy the pictures.