These photos were sent to me by a friend who was visiting Kokanee Glacier Park. He and friends stayed in a nearby cabin and did some hiking and biking.

Below is a glimpse of part of the glacier. Located north of Nelson in beautiful British Columbia, it is a relatively small glacier at 1.7 square kilometers, and getting smaller all the time, as it gradually melts away.

A hike took my friend much closer to the glacier itself.

Time to relax by the lake to take a breather from a bike ride.

A 9-km hike with a 1000-ft rise in elevation gave the group a good workout. If you click to enlarge the picture you can see two red spots in the middle of the picture below; two of the hikers  climbing up ankle-threatening rocks.

All this suffering (just kidding – they call it fun and good exercise) for a closer look at part of the glacier. It looks like it has been melting quite a bit in the last few years.

Back to the cabin for a quick rest and then another climb in the other direction and a look down into the surrounding Selkirk Mountains.

I feel exhausted just thinking about all that hiking and climbing, and I did briefly wonder why they did it. But why does anyone climb a mountain?

Because it’s there!