Leif and Natalie

I felt that this was, by far, the riskiest race that we ran. Stage 2 was originally going to occur on the Upper Rio Fuy .  A classic waterfall section with very photogenic drops.  It was to be a short sprint down four stacked mid-sized waterfalls.  However,  due to the presence of didymo (an invasive algae) in the river, the officials from that region decided that it would be best not to have the competition at that location for fear that our boats and gear would spread the algae to other Chilean rivers.  Didymo is a huge ecologic concern around the world including creeks and rivers in Europe, New Zealand, Chile the United States and Canada.  Didymo proliferates in low nutrient clear mountain streams, forming slimy mats that smothers fish eggs and severely effecting the ecosystem of the stream ( Science Daily ).  Didymo is native to northern regions of Europe, Asia and parts of North America  Its spread to Chilean Rivers in the Los Lagos Region...