Trail Rest

Most trail rests should be less than one minute and then only long enough for the muscle pain to leave. It's best not to sit down on these short stops, but if you have to sit down it's a good sign that your backpack does not fit or you are not in good shape. Every couple of hours it's a good idea to stop for 10+ minutes to sit and eat. You need to keep eating slow burn food as the day goes on so you do not run out of energy.

On difficult hikes, especially those over 12,000 feet may require you to stop every few minutes. On these kinds of hikes, you may wish to count your steps. I count to 10 then if I feel okay I go on to 20 or even 30 steps before I stop. The first time I reached the summit of Mount Shasta I was stopping every 10 steps and on some stretches I even made it to 20 whereas my friend was also counting his steps (I found out later) but he was making it to 40+ steps before he stopped and he reached the summit first.

Tuolumne River

Half Dome