Not your ordinary bubble question.

[Odd Man Out]

"Where's the bubble" seems to be an FAQ here at WB. Most people eventually get referred to hiking rate analyses by Map Man which have median dates that NOBO and SOBO hikers reach certain milestones along the way.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/content.php/44-AT-Hiking-Rates-Section-by-Section
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/content.php/697-Southbound-AT-Hiking-Rates

For a bit of pointless number crunching, I decided to calculate, using these data, where the NOBO and SOBO bubbles would intersect. So I plotted the median dates for each milepost to see where the lines cross:

34497

Extrapolating from the closest milestones, I calculate that the middle of the NOBO and SOBO bubbles will meet on August 2 at Moose Mountain Shelter. Now we know where the party is.
:banana

[rafe]

Yup, I generally figured it's Glencliff NH or thereabouts. I've heard stories about nobos and sobos mixing it up there.

[mattjv89]

Pretty close to my experience too. The most sobos I ever saw was at Hexacuba Shelter right around mid August. That place was packed to the gills with full shelter and every possible tent spot taken, seemed like close to half were sobo. I was thinking "man the Whites are going to get old if this is the new normal." Turned out to be a random event and I hardly ever saw more than two or three sobos together the rest of the way.

[map man]

Very nice graphic, Odd Man Out. Very, very good for those more visually oriented than numbers oriented.