Dawn of the Ducks: Part 2: Family Approval and More Research

I honestly had no idea if I could convince my family that it wasn’t a crazy idea. To tell you the truth, it seemed a little crazy to me too, but a little crazy sounded like a great adventure.

I first explained my plans to my three sisters. They had questions and expressed some concerns. I did my best to reassure them, saying I had done some research, but I knew the truth: I had only seen one documentary at the time.

They could see right through me. The recurring theme seemed to be the same:

«You better do more research.»

I finally got to the point of explaining my intentions to my mom and dad.

Mom was worried, as I knew she would be. My dad’s initial response was not a surprise.

«You know you can get another job.»

That didn’t bother me. My dad is old school. I calmly replied, «I know, but I would like to take advantage of this opportunity. I have money saved and I will be able to find a job when I return.»

He looked at me for a moment and then said with a smile:

«Well, if that’s what you want to do, your mother and I will support you… but you’d better do some more research.»

Once again I agreed.

And in that agreement I considered it a green light. So, with a hug and a handshake, I was on my way to (you guessed it) more research.

It exhausts me just thinking about the amount of research I would do over the next few months. See also: psf3. Every time I thought I had all my gear figured out, something else would reveal itself and send me back to investigate even more. I felt like I was being pulled in a thousand different directions. What was important? What wasn’t it?

To this day, I shudder at the thought of purchasing equipment. A backpack, a tent, a sleeping bag, a mat, a stove, floating boots… it’s really nothing. Good. Shoes, that is.

I received advice from almost everyone who was willing to give it. The problem with this is that if you follow the advice of several people and try to follow them all, the weight of your backpack multiplies very quickly.

For me, all of that advice, along with some of my own brilliant ideas, brought the total weight of my backpack to fifty-seven pounds. And in case you don’t know, fifty-seven pounds of ultralight gear is still fifty-seven pounds.

Sitting there the night before, looking at that Frankenstein herd I had created, a flood of emotions washed over me. Excitement. Anxiety. Trust. Doubt. What will tomorrow and the following months hold for us?

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