Help Revitalize an Abandoned Camp

Thank you for visiting this fundraiser

My name is Brian Snyder (Trail name: Bagheera), and I am the founder of Beyond Day Zero (@beyonddayzero) - a social enterprise that seeks to wield its message of the healing power of nature by reconnecting to ourselves, to each other, and the world around us through guided hiking sessions incorporated with wellness practices, focused on justice-impacted individuals.

I am currently hiking solo from Flagg Mountain in Alabama to Mount Katahdin in Maine (#bamatobaxter) following the Pinhoti Trail (PT), the Benton Mackaye Trail (BMT), and the Appalachian Trail (AT) in an effort to raise funding to revitalize an abandoned camp in the Delaware Water Gap in New Jersey. 

I intend for this camp to become the headquarters for Beyond Day Zero, a year-round camp for at-risk youth, a guided hiking service, a hostel-shelter-resupply spot for thru-hikers of the Appalachian Trail, a retreat center for organizations and businesses that are working on social justice issues, and a center to assist with the conservation efforts for the Delaware Water Gap area and the trails I am currently hiking: the Pinhoti Trail, the Benton Mackaye Trail, and the Appalachian Trail.

I was introduced to this camp several years ago by a close friend who knew of my love for the outdoors and exploring areas, and I immediately fell in love with the location. Right away, I could see the potential for greatness in this location and the help it could bring to so many. We would often revisit the site, as it's lovely as is. It seems as though work was being done at some point with in the past few years pre-covid, but as since it's closing in 1971, not much has come to fruition.

Every time I visited, I always asked, "Why hasn't anyone done something with this by now?" So I changed the question to, "Why haven't I?" In turn, I began reaching out, and I'm currently working with people associated with the area to acquire agency over the space. And now...I am embarking on my journey to make this a reality. 

As this is a significant undertaking, there are substantial costs associated, as noted by the fundraising goal. A full, detailed plan (currently in development) on how the funding will be utilized will be provided by the time I complete my trek. To be clear - 100% of all funding raised will be used to bring Beyond Day Zero into this world - not to support this walk of mine. I have been gratefully taught, supported, and loved tremendously over the past 10 years in a variety of ways from many individuals...and I have continued to be leading up to, and since, my departure from New Jersey to begin this quest. But in order to do so, I left everything behind - and I did so because I eventually came to know this is path I need to walk, pun fully intended, to bring the dream to life. So I've committed myself - everything that I have, and everything that I am - to this, and have taken the leap.

To follow the journey and learn the story, please feel free to follow @beyonddayzero on Instagram, and Beyond Day Zero on Facebook. Other socials are in development. Our website (beyonddayzero.com) is currently under construction, but will be updated within a few weeks. There is so much more to come, so please stay tuned, and tell a friend to tell a friend!

Thank you for your time and support  

Without wax,

Bagheera

@ero83vol / @beyonddayzero

NOBO PT, BMT, AT 2022

#bamatobaxter 

(all photos of camp by myself on January 2, 2022, photos of myself: 1• Amicalola Falls, GA, March 15, 2022 - 2• High Point State Park, NJ, May 14, 2018 - 3• Flagg Mountain Fire Tower, AL, March 16, 2022)