Kauai Pictures

Growing up, the Sargent family vacations were backpacking, skiing, or camping trips which always involved packed itineraries, cold climates, paddling around another lake, or summiting one more mountain.  I was forever envious of my friend's who traveled to Florida and just sat on the beach.  This year, since I didn't need to rush back to school as soon as the ski season finished, my big sister Elsa and I decided to go on a tropical vacation together.  We chose the Hawaiian Island of Kauai.  And while it was a much warmer trip than we were accustomed, I can't say it was any more relaxed.  Every day I excitedly read through the guidebook finding all the trails we need to run or hike and the beaches we need to explore.  I could sit and relax anywhere so why do it on Hawaii when there were endless possibilities for swimming, snorkeling, biking, kayaking, hiking, running, beachcombing, and more?  Luckily I have an amazing sister who had no trouble keeping up with my non-stop pace.  While this might not sound like a post ski season recovery period, it was exactly the mental break that I needed to recharge and prepare for the next year

Sister's trip- I will treasure this time together

Palm trees everywhere

Lots of hikes to waterfalls

So many beaches to explore

Monk seals come up onto the beach to nap.  This guy was snoozing in the same spot for an entire day and the only sign that he was still alive was the occasional slap of a flipper.

Our first day was misty and raining but after that we had great weather 

We went on a jungle hike that day and then explored some beaches where it really didn't matter if it was wet.  

Rooster sharing the beach with us.  A bad hurricane hit the island about fifteen years ago and all the chickens escaped so now roosters run wild.

Shave ice is an island favorite but it tasted a little too much like a snow cone to me.  I preferred the fresh fruit smoothies and coconut ice cream to cool down on a hot day.  

Hanalei Bay on the north shore

A funky tree

Looking down on Ke'e Beach which was as far as you could drive on the North  shore and had awesome snorkeling along the reef.  

A road follows the perimeter of the island except for the Napali Coast on the  northwestern corner of the island where the shoreline is too rocky and steep.  The only way to see this part of the island is by foot, helicopter, or boat and we chose the first option and hiked along a portion of the Kalalau Trail.  

We took a side trail to the Hanakap'ai Falls, a 300 foot waterfall.  On our way back down the trail, we ran into Canadian National Team skier Perianne Jones and her husband Joel.  

We decided to skip swimming at this beach

A steamy hike up Nounou mountain on a hot and hazy morning

After a few days on the north shore we headed to the southern part of the island where it was really hot but the  snorkeling was great.

We got very hot and sunburnt on a run to the Mahaulepu beaches one afternoon

Lithified cliffs

Cooling off in the sea breezes

And the secluded beaches at the end were definitely worth it.  Right Els?

From the South Shore we continued west to the Waimea Canyon which is called the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific."  We hiked a trail along the rim of the canyon

It's over 3000' deep and each layer was formed by a unique volcanic eruption.

Also from the west side you can hike the Napali Coast from the opposite direction

This hike went through a jungle swamp

And finished with views of Hanalei Bay and the North Shore

Our last big hike was in the Nualolo valley, scrambling down rocky ridges towards the coast

Yikes! Still haven't conquered my fear of heights

But the views were worth it!

Ocean meets the sky.  No limits here!  

And that's a season!

Five and a half months is a long season and a long time to stay mentally and physically sharp.  Now as the season comes to a close, I'm feeling quite exhausted and secretly hoping the rest of the snow will melt so we can say a final goodbye to winter.  Luckily the season ended with as much excitement as it began so underneath many layers of fatigue I'm more inspired than ever for a new year and the challenges and adventures ahead.

Here are some belated stories and reports from the final races of the year.

The XC World Cup season ended with World Cup finals in Sweden.  The top 50 in the World Cup overall standings compete in finals.  Qualifying for these races was a "reach" goal for me so it was exciting to make it happen and experience the progress.  Last year the USST had three women  and two men qualify for finals and this year we had six ladies and four men racing in Sweden which showed our team improvements.

World Cup finals is a four race mini tour which begins with a city sprint in Stockholm.

In my first visit to Stockholm, I had fun exploring the old city while running with the other girls

RAWR! Watch out!

A city square which we ran through

Not a bad race venue backdrop!

XC Skiing is a big deal in Sweden so it was really exciting to sprint in the old city around the palace in front of huge crowds

After having had a few rough races in a row, I used the energy and excitement for a really good last World Cup sprint of the year.  I qualified in 11th which was a personal best qualification for me.  I used some poor tactics in the heat, attempting to take advantage of the draft on the windy track next to the harbor but let myself get boxed in and ultimately finished 4th in my heat and 20th overall.  It was still a very fun day and re-energized me for the last few races of year.

The biggest uphill on the course climbed over the palace steps

A guard watching over the palace steps.  I said hi to him every time I passed on the training day and it only took a couple laps before he responded with a hello.

Bitter winds whipped off the ocean

The finishing stretch

Kikkan won the sprint globe for the second year in a row and was third in the World Cup overall.  Hearing the national anthem played on the Stockholm palace steps was incredibly inspiring.  I hope to see myself up there sometime soon!

From Stockholm we drove three hours northwest to Falun for the last three stages of the mini tour, including a 2.5km skate prologue, a 10km classic mass start, and a 10km skate pursuit.  Falun will be hosting the World Championships in 2015 and built some new trails for the event.  The trail designers wanted to showcase the infamous Morderbacken hill and push the limits with huge uphills and technical descents.  

Unfortunately they went a bit over the top and after the downhill had been skied a few times everyone was wishing they had metal edges to tackle the icy slope.  It was steep, fast, and narrow but didn't ski well with sharp off camber finishes to the turns which combined with ice pushed you into the fencing and trees.  Skiing it alone in an individual start race would get your heart racing and in a mass start would be just dangerous.   Skiercross on cross country skis on a narrow trail through the woods which was steeper than adjacent the ski jumping landing strip? Serious injuries and maybe career ending collisions and falls were deemed a possibility in Saturday's classic mass start race so the athletes worked together to propose course changes.  At first we were met with an absolute no since the TV cameras and timing had already been setup.  With athlete safety on the line, we met multiple times the day before the race and threatened to boycott the first race of the mini tour if the course wasn't changed.  It became a very heated issue with lots of media involved.  

We made the Norwegian tabloids:

http://sport.adressa.no/sport/langrenn/article273510.ece

Democracy in action

After several more meetings and a high proportion of athletes signing a petition to boycott the weekend if the course wasn't changed, a compromise was reached on the morning of the first race.  A new course was set which used only the bottom of the downhill and cut out some of the sketchier turns so everyone agreed to start.

Yes we were going to race! 

Racing in the 2.5km Prologue (Salomon Nordic photo)

I had a slow start in the 10km classic but came back on the final two laps to score distance points with a top 30 finish.  Here I am tired and spent after the last day of racing!

Immediately following the last race we had to pack and after spending five months on the road, this was quite the process. Here is Noah's ski bag with 30+ pairs of skis in it.  After we finished packing, we got to relax and celebrate the season with the rest of the World Cup field.  It was a fun and laid back way to meet other athletes.

We were all very ready to head back to the US but after months on the road what is one more day?  We stayed to participate in the first Fast and Female event held outside of North America.  It was cool to share this program with our Swedish friends and to meet some enthusiastic young Swedish skiers.

Sixty girls attended the inaugural event and after an afternoon of skiing, dancing, and talks they lined up to get their pink tshirts.

From Sweden I flew to California where I met up with the rest of the GRP.  After having been separated across the globe competing in lots of different races, it was really fun to reunite with everyone and ski together as a team for the last races of the year

The GRP only missing Gordon and Maria

While we had a lot of sun, we also had some other "less typical California" weather but our awesome wax team conquered all the conditions.  The sloppy April conditions combined with 7200' of altitude, a stuffed up nose and a cough made for some hard racing!  I've never seen the entire field walking in a race but when you're herringboning up a big wall through knee deep sugar at high elevation in April, sometimes there isn't another choice.  At times it felt more like a slow paced hike at maximal effort than a ski race but so it goes.  

The 3km prologue was rainy, snowy, and wet.  We battled the sloppy conditions and had a great day as a team with five top 10 finishes.  Here's Pat leading the guys with a top 5 finish.

The women's field at the start of the 10km mass start race. Can you find all the green suits? (Ryan Scott photo)

The start of the men's final for the classic sprints. We had two people in both the men's and the women's finals. It was a great last sprint for me as I won the qualifying round and ended up 2nd in the final after winning my quarterfinal and semifinal heats.

2nd Place Buddies

I decided to end my season on a high note so after the sprint, I decided to give my hacking lungs a rest and fly home a few days early, skipping the hill climb and the marathon. 

 The sweet taste of spring!

Two buckets of sap is one of the best welcome home presents, especially since maple syrup is a rarity in Europe

This morning I awoke to a few more inches of fresh snow and there is still great skiing on the trails at Craftsbury so I don't know if I'll be putting the boards away for good yet but it's also nice to be able to sleep in my own bed, explore some backcountry and alpine trails, and have the time to put up my feet and rest after a really fun winter.

Thanks for reading and thanks for all the support along the way!