Last year I took a trip to Peru and hiked for 4 days on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. It was a gorgeous trip with many amazing moments but there was one that will always stay with me. It was the third day and we were hiking up "Dead Woman's Pass".

The day was hot and by the time we reached the pass we had already been hiking up some steep inclines for about 4 hours. I was really tired and was having a hard time breathing. Our guide had let us all know that it would be the most trying of all the days and that we should all go at our own pace. -It was nice to be alone for a bit.

I found myself about half way up the pass, out of breath with a mountain wall on my left, a cliff on my right and hundreds of original incan steps about 5 feet wide, cutting through the rock and going straight up in front of me. I could not walk up 3 of the steps without stopping to get air. I finally saw a cut away in the rock to my left that created a suitable seat and caught my breathe. It was then that I remembered two things. 1. I had dried coca leaves in my pack and 2. I had an ipod. The coca leaves are supposed to help with elevation sickness -plus they pack a nice little energy boost. -They hit the spot

To this point I had resisted using my ipod because I wanted to hear my surroundings and not music but I thought that perhaps the right music could help propel me. But what was the right music?

I decided that I would put my ipod on shuffle and let chance rule the moment and if I liked what I heard I would proceed listening and hiking.

I don't have a lot of "world" music on my ipod but it shuffled right to the song above. It's called "Nothing Without You" and is performed gorgeously by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, a pakastani Qawwali singer (A sufi tradition of song). -He is said to have let his body and voice be a vessel for the divine and listening to this song in that moment, I believed it.

There literally could not have been a more perfect song for the occasion. I looked out over the Andes and cried tears of pure joy. It was an amazing moment. I'll never forget it. Hope you enjoy.