The Last Real Trout Stream

Seventy-five miles north of Mount Washington, Route 16 is a bumpy, twisting, rural road, hemmed in by fir trees and interrupted only by an occasional farmhouse shrouded in mist. Here the peaks of the White Mountain National Forest have been replaced by a vast green wilderness of deserted roads, rolling hills and remote ponds and rivers. A half mile beyond a defunct general store, we passed a sign that read “Welcome to Maine” and pulled a U-turn. I was riding in photographer Joe Klementovich’s truck, rubbernecking left and right, looking for the entrance to Dead Diamond Road. We hadn’t seen another vehicle for 20 minutes, except for Chris Pierce and his 8-year-old son, Will, who were following us. Read more