Yak Butter Blues

In 1992, the author, his wife Cheryl, and their Tibetan horse Sadhu set off on an ancient 1,000-kilometer (620 mi) pilgrimage trail from Lhasa, Tibet, to Kathmandu, Nepal.

The original motivation for the journey is to become the first Western couple to complete it. However, there are political and spiritual issues that the couple learn must be reconciled. On their journey through the Himalayan plains they encounter sandstorms, blizzards, high altitude and thin air, as well as political bureaucracy, guns, and uncertainty about food and the next step of their journey.

The narrative also describes the couple's warm encounters with Tibetan families along the way, giving insight into 1990s life in Tibet, a country struggling to survive Chinese occupation and cultural destruction—while retaining faith in the Dalai Lama's return.

Library Journal, October 15, 2004 praised the book for recording "the impact of the Chinese occupation on the daily lives of Tibetans", saying that this distinguished it from Heinrich Harrer's earlier Seven Years in Tibet. Midwest Book Review, May 2006, gave the book five stars and described it as having a "vivid freshness and an inspiring sense of wonder".

In June 2005, Yak Butter Blues received an Independent Publisher "IPPY" Award Honorable Mention in the Travel Essay division.

• Seven Years in Tibet - the account of two Austrians who walked from India to Tibet in the 1940s.
• Yak butter

• Brandon Wilson (2005): Yak Butter Blues: A Tibetan Trek of Faith: Pilgrim's Tales, ISBN 0-9770536-6-0 (trade paperback), ISBN 0-9770536-7-9 (hardcover) 2nd edition

• Yak Butter Blues, with expedition photos, music, maps and useful Tibet links.