“I can’t do this,” I said, plopping down on the closest boulder. After six days on Mount Kilimanjaro, this was summit night, the final push to 19,341-foot Uhuru Peak. We began at midnight with the intention of reaching the top by sunrise. Our Tanzanian guide, Godslove, led the way through darkness. “Try it without this,” he said, lifting the heavy backpack from my shoulders, hoisting it onto his own back. I am not a religious person; mountains are my church. But even I couldn’t ignore the fact that what eased my burden and got me to the peak was Godslove.
Maggie Downs is a California-based journalist focused on meaningful travel experiences. She is the author of the travel memoir, Braver Than You Think.