A Passion for Mountains: The Lives of Don and Phyllis Munday Book

I must give this book a five-star rating. Not because I expect anyone else to agree and not to say "You gotta read this old book," unless you, too, need a vicarious trip in mountain memories. I say old - not as classic, but because I am just a few years younger than William Ashworth and the time period is of my long ago youth.
I rate it highly for very personal reasons. He took me back to mountains I remember, though I never tried to reach to top of any, and my Wallowas hiking was only a couple Boy Scout trips. Bill took me there. And to memories of other places: Circumnavigating Mt. Rainier, with a tent mate, Bill Meyers, that Ashworth and I have in common - you see how personal this becomes. Conrad White was a significant grown-up friend in my childhood. I knew that he had a place in the book before I read it, because electronic messaging conversations with the author told me so. I cannot recall ever meeting Bill Ashworth, but we now have this correspondence and I have become aware of these friends we have in common. When Mr. White appeared I reacted with a nod, but when his old Ford sedan was mentioned briefly, I had it pictured in my mind, too. I have ridden in that same back seat.
So, it is a personal five-star. Not only for these touch-points in common, but for a shared love of the wilderness and mountain terrain. I've never been a climber, but I can relate immediately to Bill's process of adventure to understanding to peace. As I read I remembered similar experiences: The Upside Down Trail in the Beartooth Mountains, East Rosebud Creek, Indian Ridge in the Blue Mountains, which prompts memories of outings with Drs. Rempel and Pope, zoologist and botanist at Whitman. I vividly remember the ride before the hike, in the Rempel's ancient Ford woodie, with one scientist pointing out tiny rodents in the grass beside the skyline road as we bounced along and the other naming tiny wild flowers coming into bloom, as if we had any idea which flowers he was pointing out.