By dividing Z with the equivalent return of a 1 mm drop in a volume of a meter cube (Z 0) and using the logarithm of the result (because the values vary greatly from drizzle to hail), one obtains the dimensionless quantity dBZ: â â¡
The trail measured 2,168.1 miles in 2001. The total distance of the trail changes slightly from year to year as trail maintenance groups reroute the trail as needed. An Appalachian Trail thru-hike takes between five and seven months to complete the entire trail. (About 20 percent of hikers who begin the trail will complete it.) The average cost of an Appalachian Trail thru-hike is approximately $3,000 (about $1.50 per mile), not including gear.
Some Appalachian Trail hikers go for speed. The typical thru-hiker needs five or six months to complete the Trail, an undertaking that involves about 5 million footsteps, most over jagged roots and rocks. A few speed demons, however, run and power walk their way through it much more rapidly. The current record holder is Jennifer Pharr Davis, a former collegiate tennis player, who in 2011 finished the Trail in 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutesâan average of 47 miles per day.