Beneath Blossom Rain - (Outdoor Lives) by Kevin Grange (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In a remote kingdom hidden in the Himalayas, there is a trail said to be the toughest trek in the world--twenty-four days, 216 miles, eleven mountain passes, and enough ghost stories to scare an exorcist.

In 2007 Kevin Grange decided to acquaint himself with the country of Bhutan by taking on this infamous trail, the Snowman Trek. He was thirty-three, at a turning point in life, and figured the best way to go at a crossroad was up. Against a backdrop of Buddhist monasteries and soaring mountains, Grange ventured beyond the mapped world to visit time-lost villages and sacred valleys. In the process, recounted here with a blend of laugh-out-loud humor, heartfelt insight, and acute observation, he tested the limits of physical endurance, met a fascinating assortment of characters, and discovered truths about faith, hope, and the shrouded secret of blossom rain.

Beneath Blossom Rain, Grange's account of his journey, packs an adventure story, a romantic twist, and a celebration of group travel into a single entertaining book. The result is the ultimate journey for any traveler, armchair or otherwise. Along with high adventure, it delivers an engaging look at Bhutan--a country that governs by a policy of Gross National Happiness and that many regard as the last Shangri-La.

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Kevin Grange is an award-winning freelance writer who has written for Backpacker Magazine, National Parks Magazine, and the Orange County Register, among others. He has been to Bhutan four times and has completed the Snowman Trek three times, including twice as a guide. A native of New Hampshire, he currently lives in California.

Review Quotes

"Beneath Blossom Rain succeeds in merging travelogue with personal contemplation, allowing the armchair traveler to share both the physical and personal journey and taking them beyond a geographic place to a more philosophical one."--Tim Gebhart, blogcritics.org-- (4/4/2011 12:00:00 AM)

"Beneath Blossom Rain, Grange's account of his journey, packs an adventure story, a romantic twist, and a celebration of group travel into a single entertaining book. The result is the ultimate journey for any traveler, armchair or otherwise."--Sandy Amazeen, Monsters and Critics-- (8/23/2011 12:00:00 AM)

"A highly readable journey of one man's renewed lease on life."--Kirkus Reviews -- (3/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)

"For an immersion in many things Bhutanese, this is the book for you, part of the University of Nebraska Press's excellent Outdoor Lives Series."--Richard West, Everett Potter's Travel Report -- (6/15/2011 12:00:00 AM)

"The lure of legends and the allure of mountains have possessed the human race for eons. Kevin Grange's remarkable debut, Beneath Blossom Rain: Discovering Bhutan on the Toughest Trek in the World, merges the myth of the Yeti and the tangible Himalayan mountains into a tension-filled journey through Bhutan, Land of the Thunder Dragon."--Barb Teed, Rain Taxi

"Entertaining. . . . [Grange] writes well of the beauty he encounters."--Michael J. Ybarra, Wall Street Journal -- (4/19/2011 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Kevin Grange is an award-winning freelance writer who has written for Backpacker Magazine, National Parks Magazine, and the Orange County Register, among others. He has been to Bhutan four times and has completed the Snowman Trek three times, including twice as a guide. A native of New Hampshire, he currently lives in California.