I summitted on July 9 for the first time. Since this forum was helpful to me in preparing, I wanted to post my story of the trip. This is a little long, but I appreciated the detailed stories I read before going, so I thought I would share.
I prepared by hiking a couple of times a month around Los Angeles, mostly 8-10 mile hikes including Mt. Baldy, Icehouse Canyon and Marion Mtn Trail. I also bike 3 times a week for about an hour.
I started with a group of 5 girls, but only 2 of us ended up going on the trip for many different reasons (I turned in the extra permits). Neither of us had hiked the trail before. We camped at Horseshoe Meadows on Wednesday night (7/7) to get acclimated, and we both ended up getting sick. I was able to talk my friend into still starting the hike and by the time we actually hit the trail, we were both feeling really good.
We started from the portal at 9:30 a.m. and it was plenty warm. We went pretty slow up the trail and got to Trail Camp at 4:00 p.m. The trail was pretty much what I had expected until the last mile before trail camp which was a lot harder. I hadn't heard anything about the trail before Trail Camp, but it was much steeper and kind of hard to find in places during that last mile. Totally worth it though, Trail Camp was much prettier than I was expecting.
We had dinner, set up camp, and chatted with our fellow campers for a while. Until about 7:30, there were only 2 groups at the campsite, but then 6 more people showed up as it was getting dark. We went to bed early, planning to get up at 4:30 start hiking at 5:30. When we woke up however, we were both feeling the effects of the altitude. She was so nauseous and dizzy that she wasn't up for hiking. I was also feeling nauseous, but had come this far and wasn't about to stop. I had a great surprise when I got out of my tent. The eastern sky was bright orange and as I watched the sun come up it light up the peaks on the west side prefectly. Don't miss the sunrise at Trail camp!
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I ended up hitting the trail by myself at 6:00. I passed one other hiker on the way to Trail Crest and didn't see anyone else. The trail was icy where the water crossed it and pretty slick. I stayed on the dry rocks or in the running water and was ok, but be careful. I got to the cables at 6:45 and made it through with no problems. I didn't use any crampons or hiking poles, just my hands. I reached Trail Crest at 7:45. There was a small patch of snow to cross just before, but it wasn't bad, just a little icy. I was able to hang onto the rocks and cross fine. The view at Trail Crest was amazing!!
I continued on (downhill, I didn't know about that one) and made it to the summit at 9:45. This section of the trail wasn't bad at all. I only passed 7 others coming down from the summit the whole way. There was one patch of snow along the way, but it was easy to spot and get through because it is basically a trench. At the top, there was one guy just leaving and so I got him to take my picture then I had the top to myself. It was pretty cool to be the highest person in the (continental) United States for a few mintues. The top was windy, and I didn't stay long, but it was totally worth it! I had on 5 layers on top and 2 on the bottom with winter gloves to keep warm. Summitting by myself was harder than I thought it would be but also more rewarding. I had to prove to myself that I could do it without anyone else pushing me along. Let me tell you though, I was so happy when I saw that shack just above me!
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I passed several groups on my way down and ended up back at Trail Camp at 12:00. By then my friend was feeling better and had hiked to Trail Crest and back while I was gone. We ate, packed and were hiking by 1:00 and back to the Portal for burgers by 5:00 p.m. We stayed at the hostel that night and it was really clean and comfortable. We had a 6-person room to ourselves.
This was an awesome hike, thanks for the tips and reports that helped me prepare. If you're interested, here is a link to more pictures I took along the hike including the cables section.
Mt. Whitney Pictures 
