OUTDOORS: Port Angeles’ Hal Force reaches summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak

PORT ANGELES — Eleven different changes to his airline itinerary, 52-hours of one-way travel and thousands of feet of elevation gain eventually resulted in the realization of a dream nearly 50 years in the making for Port Angeles resident Hal Force — reaching the summit of the tallest peak in Africa, 19,341-feet high Mount Kilimanjaro.

Atop Uhuru Peak at the summit, Force reflected on his good fortune while interacting with younger hikers from different groups.

“I was always visualizing myself at where I am at this point in the world,” Force said. “And here I was in East Africa on this giant peak on the largest continent. There was a lot of joking between groups; it was a younger crowd and reaching the peak may have meant something different to me than the younger folks. I felt fortunate to do it at my age, fortunate that I want to do it at my age. And I attribute it to hiking here and meeting active people.”

Force, 70, has lived in Port Angeles for six years with his wife, Jodie, and is an active hiker with a number of local groups.

“I’m part of a few different hiking groups here: Klahhane, the Sequim Monday Ramblers, and I’m with the Friday Guys group at Indepdent Bible Church, although I’m not a member of the church,” Force said. “I’ve done Mount St. Helens (8,336 feet) a couple of times, Mount Shasta (14,180) and the highest in California, Mount Whitney (14, 505).”

He said his favorite area hike is the High Divide (7-Lakes Basin) Loop, a 19-mile roundtrip trek that Force has completed three times.

To acclimate to the elevation in Africa, Force also climbed the nearby 14,968-feet tall Mount Meru, with just one rest/travel day before starting up Kililmanjaro.

Force, who lives in Mount Pleasant Estates, also was welcomed home with a drive-by salute from his neighbors — a twice-around the driveway parade complete with balloons and banners celebrating his feat.

The former Alaskan oilfield worker and substitute teacher had his interest in visiting Africa piqued by a pair of famous authors.

“This is something I’ve wanted to do since 1976,” Force said. “I read Hemingway’s ‘Snows of Kilimanjaro,’ which never actually reaches Kilimanjaro, and I read ‘The Covenant’ by James Michener (a historic novel that traces South Africa’s history from the prehistoric era up to the 1970s) and I’ve always dreamed of going.”

International travel in the COVID-era isn’t easy. Force said his airline ticket was rebooked 11 times since May and recent travel restrictions between Tanzania and Kenya blocked his ability to travel between the nations by bus. He also was required to show proof of a recent negative test to board his international flight and upon arrival in Tanzania.

Once on the ground, Force said COVID wasn’t anywhere near the level of concern as here in the states.

“Their president doesn’t really recognize the virus,” Force said.

The country isn’t reporting positives, just telling positive people to re-test in seven days. They are minimizing the problem to keep whatever tourist trade remains coming to visit.

Force traveled with one guide and a team of porters, a chef and servers up Mount Meru and with even more during the six-day climb of Kilimanjaro.

“There were four clients and two guides, a cook, a server and 11 porters. There was a lot of people working for us, carrying all the gear, setting up the tents. They hauled a mess tent up to cook the food, a galley tent for us to eat in and tables and chairs.”

A rule states that porters aren’t allowed to carry more than 20 kilograms — around 44 pounds — per day and packs are re-distributed and weighed each day along the trail.

Force was blown away by their endurance.

“They are carrying 44 pounds on their heads with ragtag shoes on their feet, and they are passing you up along the trail despite you leaving earlier than they did,” Force said.

He added that the porters, who receive low wages for their efforts, received significant tips from him and fellow clients, a good gesture with COVID putting a heavy dent in climbing-related tourism. Force also gifted his newer hiking shoes to the guides at the end of the trip.

“I thought our campfire was pretty full on summit day, but the guides said normally there would be tents everywhere you look,” Force said.

Force also enjoyed the respect he received for his elder status.

“The Swahili word for grandfather is babu, and porters of different groups would call out ‘Jambu babu,’ or ‘Hello grandfather’,” Force said.

Force avoided injury, inclement weather or the use of oxygen tanks while climbing through the mountain’s five climate zones. The group dealt with light to heavy rains each day, and ice formed on tents above the 12,000-feet mark, but temperatures were moderate.

He credited the climb of Mount Meru and taking altitude-sickness medication for his ability to ascend without too much trouble.

“That last day was a push going up,” Force said. “It was a 3.1 mile-hike, and it took us seven-and-a half hours with 4,100 feet of elevation gain to get up to 19,340 feet.”

Force reflected on the good-natured people he met in Africa.

“When you go to third-world countries, you really develop a feeling for those who have so much less than you do. I get emotional when I think of it,” Force said. “You see village women laughing and joking while they gather water and realize that’s their life. They live on lesser means than we do, and they don’t seem bitter by it. They may have been, and that’s their right, but they were always very respectful.”

Force also enjoyed the welcome home.

“That was pretty neat. It happened after I was back for a day, and I was still a little groggy [from jet lag],” Force said. “I had gone to bed about 5 p.m. in the afternoon, and my wife told me I needed to get downstairs. There were balloons, posters. Tom Baermann, who owns Pacific Office Equipment, had his people make a poster with Kilimanjaro on the back.”