Cancer Can't Keep 81-Year-Old Hiker Off the Trail

Windows to the Wild

At the age of 81, hiker and author Joe Nyberg is older than most on the trail, but after decades of hiking not even stage 4 prostate cancer has him planning to hang up his hiking poles. Nyberg recently joined Windows to the Wild host Willem Lange for a hike up Blueberry Mountain and a discussion about the importance of doing what you love for as long as you can.

Nyberg was 12 when he took his first hike, but he claims he didn’t become really serious about hiking until he was 75. That’s when he began tackling the 4,000 footers of New England, a project that eventually led him to publish Happy Trails, an account of his outdoor adventures.

“Hiking is a lot like life,” he says. “You’ve got curves in the trail, you’ve got obstacles, you’ve got all kinds of things that you have to overcome, but you do it.”

Chemotherapy almost kept Nyberg off the mountain. After beginning treatment, “I sat around for four months feeling sorry for myself,” he recalls. Then a friend and hiking partner asked, “Why don’t you get off your butt…and let’s go hiking?”

For the plainspoken Nyberg, it was the perfect motivation. On the hike up Mount Willard, his goals were modest. He wanted to make it to Centennial Pond, a spot he loves, about a third of the way up the mountain. When he made it, he tells Lange, “I started to get a little emotional because I didn’t think I was ever going to see it again.” It took two more hours, but he reached the summit.

He doesn’t reach the summit every time. Cancer and chemotherapy impact his energy level and he takes frequent stops to rest. Windows to the Wild producer Steve Giordani says the getting to the summit is not the point for Nyberg. “We saw an ailing man, revived by the splendor of being surrounded by nature.”

Nyberg chooses to focus on savoring the moment he’s in. “I’m just thankful that I can do what I do, and I’m going to do it as long as I can,” he says.

On this trip, the journey involves rocks to climb, streams to jump and gates to scramble under. There is also plenty of laughter with new friends and stunning views of Mt. Moosilauke. “As long as my body will accept the chemo, I’ll just keep going,” Nyberg says. Now, each time he goes to chemotherapy, he brings pictures of his latest hiking adventure.

Viewers will be able to learn more of Nyberg’s philosophy and what inspires him when he joins Willem Lange on Windows to the Wild, Wednesday, November 1 at 7:30 pm.