This is my second year doing the Six Pack of Peaks Challenge, and I am training to hike Mt. Whitney with a group of 15 since we were fortunate to get our permits in the lottery.  The weather was beautiful as we started out on the trail.  We had a fairly large group of hikers, some training for Mt. Whitney in August, and some along for the opportunity to be outdoors and hike a new trail for us.  The flora around us was lush and green from all of the rail we had this year.   The first few miles were pretty easy going so we set a pretty good pace.  Then we hit the steep section at the end and found out why this “hill” is now on the “12 Pack”.  We enjoyed the views from the top, took our photos, and headed back down.  We made it back to the trailhead, had a bite to eat at the candy store deli, and called it a day.  It was a great start to my Six Pack of Peaks for 2019.