Drum roll for the new blogger on the block…….. or should I say trail

I do not know who you are. You do not know who I am. If you are looking for a trail name I can tell you I do not yet have one, but what I do have is a very particular name. A name I acquired nearly 25 years ago. A name that make me a can of awesomesauce ready to take on an adventure most only dream of. If you don’t read this post… and future ones… that’ll be the end of it. You wont get my backstory, you won’t see me summit Katahdin, but if you do, I might make you laugh, I might enlighten you, and I might even surprise you.

See what I did there? Did you? If you did good on you….. now that the ice is broken I’ll give you some backstory…. by the way…. the name is Koty.

The Past:

Not long ago, November right around my 24th birthday to be exact, I found myself coming to terms with the fact that I was not happy with the direction my life was heading. While I longed to be out exploring the world and taking advantage of my youth, I found myself spending 40+ hours a week at my university and another 36+ hours on the job. Class, study, work, and sleep were the extent of my life. How did I get to this point? Well, in simple terms, trying to please everyone around me and do what is “expected.” You know… that thing that people in the “real world” do. Go to college, get a job, work until you’re 65, and then start living life in the “golden years.”  This was not the path I wanted for my life, but it was the trap I was falling into headfirst. It was at this point of realization. This point of desperation that I decided I would no longer live a life chosen for me by others or society, but rather become the person I always wanted to be. It was time for me to grow as an individual and take on the world how I always dreamed I would.

The Now:

So my first course of action was to ditch that awful pre-med major I was attempting to tackle and take on something that suited me. Boom! Ecology it was, which by the way isn’t the most profitable field by any means, but it aligns with my desires in life. Along with this new major came research opportunities and new people. My kind of people. The outdoorsy, nature loving kind of folks. Thus, I was on a corrected path of exploration and closer to living my dream. In the following months I came to find myself happier as I spent increasingly more time with these people, outdoors, backpacking, and completing research. To keep things short. This simple change. The change from a major I thought i needed to do, to a major in a field I truly enjoy has inadvertently lead me to the Appalachian Trail.

The Future:

So here I am approaching 25 years old, a soon to be college graduate, and a hopeful AT thru-hiker. This is the big step. The one that will propel me into a life where I am the adventurer and not just a dreamer. A life where I am truly alive and not just incubating within society. For now the AT is my goal, but my list does not end there. The Pacific Crest Trail, the Hayduke Trail, New Zealand, Australia, mountaineering school, a Denali summit, Patagonia, and much more fall into this list of adventures I wish to complete. While these efforts are my own endeavors, I wish to share them starting with the AT. While blogging and photography are relatively new to me, I feel that I can express myself to the world through them. So I will be glad to have you all along for my first big journey and I hope that I can influence some of you to take life by the reins along the way.

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Comments 4

  • Big Jim : Aug 14th

    Good Read Koty… Welcome to BLOGGERVILLE!!! Hope to see you on the trail and read some of your adventure as well…

    Walk Steady my friend

    God Bless
    Big Jim

    Reply
    • Koty Sapp : Aug 14th

      Thanks Big Jim,
      I have been reading your post and you have me intrigued. I’m curious to know more about your journey since you are leaving from Florida. I’ll be looking forward to more details!

      Reply
  • Linda Vance : Aug 14th

    Good for you. Do it now. I’m one of those “outdoorsy, nature-loving kind of folks,” i.e., a research ecologist, and so I can’t really whine about my job keeping me indoors or away from the things I love. But even working outdoors wears thin after a few decades, when you keep having to turn your attention from that mountain top over there or that stream down in the valley and back onto the plant or frog or insect in front of you. So maybe I’ll run into you on the trail next year, especially if you plan to bring that fly rod with you.

    Reply
    • Koty Sapp : Aug 16th

      I thought about bringing the fly rod, but idk yet. I wouldn’t take it past north carolina. It’s easier to take it on something such as the Colarado Trail where you don’t need 14 different fishing permits so I will most likely just focus on hiking.

      Reply

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