With parents who met at raft guides on the Chattooga, it was only natural for Pat Keller to follow in their watery footsteps. His parents sent him to instructional camps, entered him in slalom races and prepped him for freestyle events. As an adult, Keller has made a name for himself as a creeker, with first descents of significant routes including Toxaway Falls, Linville Falls, Valser Rhein Falls, Cane Creek Falls, Wolf Creek Falls. Across his career, he has won different classes of North Carolina’s Green Race five times and earned second place at the 2010 Freestyle World Championships. Today, Keller works with Team Liquidlogic and serves as a fired-up ambassador for the sport.

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Emma Gatewood

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Jeff Biggers