MANISTEE, Mich. — Travis Snyder walked over 800 miles around Lake Michigan over the past month. Sunday, his journey ended in Manistee. It took 42 days.
Snyder, a Marine veteran, embarked on the journey at the end of August. He served as a U.S. Marine from 2012 to 2018.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 20 veterans die every day by suicide. Snyder worked with Mission 22, a non-profit that helps veterans and their loved ones combat PTSD and suicide.
Snyder started the walk in Manistee and traveled north through Mackinaw City into Wisconsin, south through Illinois and back north through Indiana. He ended the experience back in Manistee Sunday afternoon. A crowd of people joined Snyder on his final mile, which went west on Merkey Road and north on Cherry Street, ending at Lighthouse Park.
A Facebook page called "Veteran Suicide Awareness: Travis Hikes Around Lake Michigan" gathered nearly 3,000 likes during the trip. Snyder would post daily updates, including photos of where he was walking, how many miles he had completed and other news. This tracking made it possible for people to join Snyder during various miles on the walk.
The page also became a small community, where people could post encouragement for Snyder. One person thanked Snyder for his efforts because her brother recently died from suicide.
Snyder also found a wandering kitten on the journey. He named it Gulliver.
RELATED VIDEO:
Other stories on 13 ON YOUR SIDE:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.