There is always some old guy (almost 75) kicking in with his two bits worth of opinion. Would you consider perhaps doing Kearsarge Pass as her lst backpack rather than Shepherd (which is a tough long haul) and Forester(which is a tough one right after Shepherd) instead. Once over Kearsarge you could go north to Charlotte Lake and then even to Rae Lakes area which is gorgeous. OR you could go south up Vidette Meadows area to the Center Basin area which many consider very beautiful too. Both these areas are favorites of Rosie, a John Muir Trail Veteran of many hikes and I know from my own backpacking experiences since 1948 that both these places are tough to beat. Of course if you are determined to do Forester, going south from Kearsarge would let you judge the northern condition of Forester and you could end up doing it and go over Shepherd down to the trailhead, essentially your route in reverse but starting with an easier pass, Kearsarge. Actually I was not sure where you intended to exit if you went in over Shepherd and Forester so perhaps Kearsarge was your intended exit route. If so, I still would recommend doing Kearsarge lst.
