I have already taken the first step down the path paved with good intentions.

And why not, dear Max? We have only hypothetical evidence - and that of the most tenuous nature - to suggest to where that path leads.
Could it not be that the hypothesis refered to above was promulgated by those who wished to have the broad, flower-bedecked, gently sloping path to themselves? This would, possibly, account for the strong marketing campaign that has been mounted, over the centuries, for a route that has little or no intrinsic attractiveness other than its advertised destination which, equally with the broad path, is based on assertions that can only be described as dead dodgy.