this is the old JMT prior to 1932....heads up and over Junction Pass.
My brother and a friend were interested in looping the old JMT, so a few years ago they went up Center basin over Junction pass down to the Pothole. The next day they went back up over Shepherd to summit Tyndall, then followed that up with a return via the PCT over Forester back to Vidette & Onion.
One thing that caught my eye. You mention Heart Lake. Heart Lake is not on the trail, the lake is several hundred feet below the trail. It really is off the beaten track. It just looks accessible from the map....it's an illusion.
Sorry for the confusion. Yes, we'd get water @ Flower, then hike up the trail to the 11k zone above Heart and below Big Pothole. Of course, it may be moot - if we shuttle our cars and get on the trail a little after noon, I'm not sure either us is going to be ok sitting around from 3pm on, so we'll most likely end up on the other side of Kearsarge for the night.
How old is your son? Strong hiker or is dad going to carry most of the stuff? A number of years ago I took my daughter and carried pretty much everything. She carried her clothes and a few things.
We've progressed nicely from:
To last year @ 14 yo where I'm not able to keep up with him on the way down:
While he's laughing at the old man who's dying going up trail to Guitar:
This year, he's carrying all his stuff, and in a few years, maybe mine as well. LOL LOL LOL
