Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race - Mike's Site

Zip Kellogg says the reason he stands in his canoe when paddling through whitewater is because of the view it provides.

You can believe him. For 35 years Kellogg has paddled throughout Maine, Alaska, Quebec, British Columbia and Mexico simply for the vantage point.

"The real reason I stand is because it affords a really nice view down the river. So I can survey down the river and tell where the rocks are," Kellogg said. "If I'm not in the race, and there is no one around, I'm still going to stand."

Bangor residents know their native son as the celebrity of the annual Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Races, which was scheduled to take place Saturday. Kellogg arrives every year dressed in a tuxedo or top hat, as he stands and paddles the 16 miles into Bangor.Outdoor folks in Portland likely know the resident canoeist for his books and maps of paddling tips and trails. "If you've been over a bridge in a car, chances are I've been under it in my canoe," Kellogg said last week after a canoe presentation at the University of Southern Maine.

Yet even for this diehard paddler, caution during spring runoff season is paramount to enjoying the wild rips and high water. A kayaker who died during a trip down Cobbosseecontee Stream two weeks ago was at the mercy of the cold, swirling, high water. James McCann, 48, of Gardiner died on April 4 after his kayak snagged in trees in the swollen stream. Even 35 years after he began paddling actively, Kellogg says he always defers to the dangers in the river when in doubt. Kellogg starts paddling most years on April 1, but, he said, he always wears a drysuit under his clothes. He also keeps a keen eye out for the flotsam and jetsam that can block a river or flood it during the canoeing season.

In his first canoe race 35 years ago, Kellogg said, his canoe broke apart when it ran into another canoe that was stuck in the Kenduskeag Stream.

"This time of the year, the currents are strong and the river is choked with trees. That's the dark side," Kellogg said. "The rule of thumb I use is (if) I'm not comfortable with what I see downstream, I'm stopping (or portaging)."

Kellogg has seen many kinds of dangers on Maine's waters.

Pick a river in Maine, and Kellogg says he's canoed it.

"We live in a watery part of the world. We are very, very lucky," said Kellogg, a librarian at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

Pick any town in Maine, and Kellogg insists he's visited it by water, because nearly every municipality in the state has a river running through it, he said. Biddeford, Sanford, Windham, Fryeburg and Brunswick are all on major rivers. So, too, are South Paris, Winthrop, Augusta, Bangor, Presque Isle, Houlton, Fort Kent and Skowhegan.

Down East there is a river going right through Dennysville, Machias, Jonesboro, Columbia Falls, Harrington, Cherryfield and Sullivan.

Kellogg retells the history of canoeing in these towns and suddenly the aqua-colored backdrop makes sense.

"In the earlier days, these rivers were used for other commercial purposes, navigating downstream, connecting the logs," Kellogg said.

And, considering what drives him in this calling, it makes sense that Kellogg has acquired a list of canoe trips that covers all of Maine except the western Canadian border.

"What is really exciting for me is to paddle an area I've never been," Kellogg said. A few years ago, the Portland resident circled the harbor town by fresh water and salt water, just because he could. Kellogg wheeled his canoe from his house to Back Cove, where he set off across Portland Harbor to the Stroudwater River and up to a short carry to the Presumpscot River.

From there he paddled back to Casco Bay and Back Cove, where he wheeled the canoe home, mission accomplished.

And, just like on every other canoe trip, Kellogg said he saw a wealth of wildlife: deer, beaver, osprey.

"Another reason I'm out all the time is because it's just fabulous to see wildlife," Kellogg said.


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