SLO County man has hiked this Montaña de Oro peak 1,000 times — despite lung cancer
When Bob Kamm turned 65, he set a goal: to hike Valencia Peak 1,000 times before he turned 80.
The Los Osos resident achieved that goal on Jan. 21 — three years ahead of schedule and despite a battle with lung cancer.
“It’s still sinking in, but it feels really good,” Kamm said.
On a clear, windless day, Kamm and six friends hiked a winding trail to the top of the 1,347-foot peak. Sagebrush perfumed the air, and hawks swooped across a clear blue sky that kissed the ocean in the distance.
Kamm’s longtime friend Mike McGill completed the hike while wearing a pair of flip-flops. He was thrilled to support Kamm as he achieved his goal, he said.
“The day couldn’t be any more beautiful. We saw some fossils, lots of nice, native plants and a view forever,” McGill said. “With everything Bob’s gone through — to set a goal like that and to be able to accomplish it is amazing.”
Kamm’s ultimate objective was to stay fit. Both his brothers died in their 60s, and Kamm wanted to preserve his health so he could live a long life and spend as much time with friends and family as he could.
Kamm has lived with his wife Andrea in Los Osos since 2012. They enjoy spending time with Andrea’s children Paul, 60, and Kimberly, 62, along with Kamm’s 50-year-old son, Ben, who he raised as a single dad.
He’s also the son of the late Herb Kamm, former Tribune columnist and Cal Poly journalism adviser.
“There’s a lot of people in my life that I love, and I want to be here,” Kamm said. “I don’t want to be checking out early. My brothers did, and that was tragic for me.”
What inspired Kamm to count his hikes?
The seed of inspiration for Kamm’s goal struck him on a hike of Valencia Peak about 20 years ago, when he was greeted on the trail by a towering, wind-weathered man.
The 82-year-old hiker was a direct descendant of American frontiersman Daniel Boone. He and Kamm swapped stories about their love for Valencia Peak, and the elderly hiker said it was his 462nd time climbing the mountain.
The encounter inspired Kamm to count the number of times he hiked to the peak.
“A lot of people consider themselves old geezers at my age, and I don’t accept that,” he said with a smile.
So in August 2012, Kamm made a plan to summit Valencia Peak 1,000 times before he turned 80. That gave him 15 years to achieve his goal.
“It was the most convenient half-day hike, and I like a challenge,” he said of the 4.6-mile trail.
Ultimately, Kamm decided to hike more consistently to preserve his health and lengthen his life.
“I started feeling like I was looking over my shoulder, you know. Death could be not far behind me,” he said.
So, he embarked on a journey on a mountain that he loved.
When in good health, Kamm hiked to the peak every Tuesday and Thursday. He relished the fresh air and encounters with wildlife, from rattlesnakes to red-tailed hawks and even a bobcat.
“It’s just a great hike,” he said. “There are switchbacks, there are areas that are easier, and then the last third — it’s a challenge, and I like that. You get your heart rate up, you get your respiration up and you get to work at it. I like that. Plus, the payoff is the view.”
Hiker continued through cancer treatment
For more than a decade, Kamm kept up his regular twice-a-week trek to the Valencia Peak summit.
Then, in June 2023, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He soon underwent surgery to remove a small tumor and 25% of his left lung.
“That’s really significant to a person like me who wants to get out in the world and move,” he said.
Even while battling a cancer that robbed him of breath — Kamm kept hiking.
Three weeks after his surgery, he returned to the mountain to hike for 15 to 20 minutes at a time — just to put his feet on the trail and connect with nature. He only counted hikes where he reached the peak toward his goal, but he said these half-hikes were just as valuable.
“You don’t want to set a goal that becomes tyrannical,” he said. “You want to attune to your body and adjust, which is what I did. I would walk as far as I could — acknowledging that, you know, I didn’t have the normal juice.”
Six weeks after his surgery, he reached the summit once again.
After he fully healed from surgery, he then underwent chemotherapy every three weeks for three months. By the end of each third week, he often felt well enough to hike at least a portion of the trail.
“I like to think about the baby steps,” he said. “Getting on the trail on a given day may be as important as reaching the top on another day.”
He finished his treatment with three and a half months of an oral medication that targeted the DNA of the cancer in his lungs. The medication came with intense side effects, but about a month after the treatment concluded, he again returned to the trail.
Kamm was declared cancer-free in December.
“Cancer is not necessarily a death sentence anymore,” he said. “There’s a lot of cancers that if you catch them early — yeah, the treatment is rough, but when it’s over, you just ease your way back in.”
Greg Greenwood, Kamm’s friend of 30 years, called the accomplishment an “entrancing spiritual journey.”
When Greenwood first heard about Kamm’s goal, he thought: “No-brainer. He’s in great health, great shape. He’s going to take 1,000 like nothing,” he said.
Then came the cancer diagnosis.
Greenwood was even more inspired by Kamm’s dedication despite his health challenges.
“It isn’t so much about getting knocked down. It’s about the not staying down, and it’s about getting back up and finding a way to continue to pursue your life and these dreams,” Greenwood said. “I saw that first-hand — to see Bob rise up.”
What’s next?
Kamm no longer plans to summit Valencia Peak twice a week. From now on, he will hike the trail for an hour, complete a few exercises, then return home to spend time with his wife, Andrea.
“I love my wife, and she loves me. We like spending time together,” he said. “When I do the mountain, it’s like, I’m away for four hours.”
He said he’s satisfied with his achievement, and he is glad to continue to enjoy the mountain and maintain his health.
“I don’t have any quote ‘goal’ in the sense that I did before — I don’t have a numerical goal. I have a desire to stay fit and live a long, healthy life to the degree I can control it,” he said.
Most importantly, he said, spending time on the mountain supported his self-development.
“It’s helped me become more myself,” he said. “When you connect with a place the way I have with Montaña de Oro and Valencia Peak in particular, it helps me to become the person I’m supposed to be. You know, there’s something meditative and calming about it, and it kind of reminds you of the essence of what it is to be alive as a human being.”
Kamm also has published four books of poetry — with many poems dedicated to Valencia Peak. He’s currently writing a fifth book, he said.
“A lot of my poems originate on this mountain,” he said. “It’s a place that speaks to me.”
One poem called “What Mountain Needs” was inspired by the hike.
“Climb her, love her, leave,” Kamm wrote. “She will reward you by being here tomorrow, awakening, shaking the dew from her spider webs, her monkey flowers, wild cucumber and coyote brush will all be stretching towards the sky so you awaken, shake off the dew and webs that distort your vision and bind your heart so you may stretch toward the sky. Mountain will stand beside you. Mountain will stand beneath you. Mountain is steadfast and constant as best friends are. Be humble. Remember, there is no shame that you need mountain far more than she needs you.”
