1. The problem states that a mountain path is 12.1 miles long and a hiker walks at a rate of 1.96 miles per hour. 2. We need to find the time it takes for the hiker to walk the entire trail. 3. Use the formula for time: $$\text{time} = \frac{\text{distance}}{\text{rate}}$$ 4. Substitute the given values: $$\text{time} = \frac{12.1}{1.96}$$ 5. Calculate the division: $$\text{time} \approx 6.1735$$ hours. 6. Therefore, the hiker will take approximately 6.17 hours to walk the entire trail.