Outdoors and pregnant - 1 - where to go, what to do?

So, yes ... that happened.
I think I went a bit crazy suddenly and pretty soon I'll be not just me anymore. yay, pink fluffy puffy stuff and all, but how to do outdoors while preggo?
Later I'll write something on activities with kid, but first things first...

So, many women have a great pregnancy, they're energetic, do fitness training and everything and just seem to not change physically except for the bump. A colleague of mine was telling me about running around in the woods doing her exam to become a captain in the military, just days before full term. I was amazed that she could actually RUN! My body had no intentions of following that sort of a road. Already from the start I got super mega insanely exhausted. I've spent almost 3 months sleeping. After work I'd just crash and .. well,.. sleep like the dead. And eat. Yeah the eating part. My regular low carb, healthy, veggie rich diet did reeeally not go well with the growing, crazy, carnivore, sugar craving embryo, so I gained some weight quite quickly in the beginning trying to figure out how to eat. Luckily that part normalized, but I do feel pretty heavy. Aside from that an old pelvic injury started bothering me to no end.

So, no exercise and heavier than I'd hoped, but the craving to go outdoors has not lessened. So far I've spent a week at the coast with my bro, fishing and scrambling over boulders and rocks along the Swedish west coast, as well as done a cave scramble in Börsås - super much fun, very tight cave, and way too short. Took us 15 minutes to get through. In the pic I'm looking at the tiny exit hole. I couldn't find any good website on it, so try googling Börsås cave or check it out on youtube.


Anyhow, next I'm considering a slow pace hike in Norway or somewhere in Sweden and these are the things that need to be taken into account.

• I'm not very fit at the moment.

• I'm heavy - extra weight means weight of a backpack needs to be minimal as I have a bad knee and SI-joint.

• Backpack can't be too tight around the waist - again, minimal weight.

• Energy need is higher - need to have more snacks and stuff to keep a steady blood sugar level throughout any hike. 

• Hiking pace needs to take a loose pelvis into account. Can't walk fast and no sudden moves.

Other than the above, it should be a piece of cake, right. 😅

Sweden?
I have never really explored Sweden. For some reason it has not been as interesting to me as more "exotic" places abroad. That said, the country has loads of interesting spots to offer and is full of forests, lakes and hills with hiking trails, fishing areas, rivers for kayaking and so forth...
I've always wanted to go to Treriksröset, which is the place where Sweden, Finland and Norway meet, the "Three country cairn", but I'll have to save that one for later. Its as far up north you can get in Sweden. In the pic here you have Sweden below, Finland to the right and Norway to the left.


Norway?
So... Preikestolen for example, only has a 300 m ascent. There are 2 difficult sections, first one being in the very beginning of the hike. It's a constant scramble up a hill. Last time we were there it had been raining and the trail was quite muddy. We were late starting out our hike and didn't have time to go more than half way. So we stopped in the middle section and had dinner by a stream before heading down again. We couldn't go very far back then because we had our dad with us and he was in really bad shape (which he protests very loudly, not acknowledging that we only did the first part of the hike). If I go for this one I'll be the one who's in really bad shape. 😝

The mountainous Norway has a typical shifty weather, meaning you need to be prepared for both fabulous sunshine and sleet rain. If you want to spend the night at the top the gear you bring needs to accommodate cold and rain.

I considered Finland too, but that would require sitting still at the table visiting relatives. Not what I'm looking to do in my last days of FREEDOOOM!!!

So...
Tent with tarp.
Warm sleeping bag.
Base Layers - merino wool under layer, wool socks, etc
Layers - sweater, pants.
Water resistant layers - pants and jacket, buff, gloves etc.
Cooking gear. 
Head torch for moving about and to have as a light in the tent.
Water! and snacks....

So... my regular clothes are out of the question. I've ordered a new pair of pants for hiking, which hopefully will fit. I'll go with one of my old puffy jackets, a blue 8848Altitude, instead of my super efficient, Haglöffs ROC, fabulous shell jacket. That one will have to wait until next year... In this pic I'm wearing the super shell over a simple Quechua quilt jacket from Decathlon. It was insanely cold and windy on that mountain pass, but the combination was perfect for that weather.
The blue 8848 jacket survived a year of shifty weather on the Faroe Islands, though, so I think it'll be ok.

Well then, the first part of the project is finished - deciding to go.
Next comes packing for all eventualities. I'm planning on going super flexible as I haven't decided where to go and what to see. I just need my gear and a car and off it is 😜