<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></head><body><div><br></div><div>Glenn,</div><div>Thanks for the fine report.</div><div>I'm jealous of all the good hiking weather.</div><div><br></div><div>That was not a controlled burn.</div><div>It was reported as a wildfire on April 15th.</div><div>I was with FS @ MRNRA & they showed the map. It looked to me like the fire started near the genome village. </div><div><br></div><div>I'll report your hours with my May report.</div><div><br></div><div>FYI. Pictures of trail conditions are more interesting than flowers.</div><div>No offense. </div><div>Jim</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div id="composer_signature"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><div style="font-size:85%;color:#575757">Sent from my Galaxy Tab®</div></div><div><br></div><div style="font-size:100%;color:#000000"><!-- originalMessage --><div>-------- Original message --------</div><div>From: "Glenn Miller, Jr." <millerg@wilkes.k12.nc.us> </div><div>Date: 5/16/21 10:38 AM (GMT-05:00) </div><div>To: houckjw <houckjw@bellsouth.net>, Ed Martin <martined@wilkes.k12.nc.us>, Lloyd Walker <walkerl@wilkes.k12.nc.us>, Wesley Martin <martinw@wilkes.k12.nc.us>, Karen Worthington <skynomish@aol.com> </div><div>Subject: Trip report for 5/15, VA 625 to Chestnut Knob Shelter </div><div><br></div></div><div><div dir="ltr">Jim,<div><br></div><div>A friend and I hiked from Poor Valley Rd to Chestnut Knob shelter & back Saturday. I did some light pruning along the way, but Karen had left the trail in excellent condition with well dug water bars and really good tread. There were no trees down and I never even had to use my silky. I cleaned out the shelter and didn't notice any issues at all. The grass in the meadows is now about 6 inches high and all the water sources were flowing well. </div><div><br></div><div>There were lots of hikers on trail yesterday which was surprising to me since it was Trail Days. One hiker said there were lots of trees down (15-25) near Adkins, but he couldn't remember if it was North or South of Adkins. </div><div><br></div><div>I'm assuming there was a controlled burn from where the steps begin almost all the way to where the meadows begin. They used the AT as a fire break. It made the hike very interesting, almost felt like I was on another planet hiking through the charred forest. I was breathing so hard I forgot to take pictures of the burn site,but it was really cool.</div><div><br></div><div>Perfect day for hiking, lots of wildflowers coming out, and the leaves are just now emerging at the higher elevations.</div><div><br></div><div>Put me down for a day's work.</div><div><br></div><div>A few random pictures are attached.</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks, Jr Miller</div></div></div></body></html>