As if Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan Scout Reservation weren’t epic enough as a destination, Troop 150 in Deerfield went on an adventure of a lifetime to travel to camp this summer. The idea was born from the Scouts and nurtured by the adult leaders, and the results were amazing, as you’ll soon see.

Joe Friedman, Troop 150’s committee chair, shares the story of their journey in hopes that other units will be inspired to create a trip like it.

Ideation and Planning

Two years ago, I picked up my son, Charlie, from Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan, and he said that he and a few other Scouts thought it would be cool to walk up to camp the following year. I told him that the walk would be epic, but riding a bicycle would be more doable. About eight Scouts were interested. I told Charlie to present the general idea to the committee and let them know we would be planning this as our 2024 high-adventure trek.

I started looking at Google Maps and bike map apps to see where the trails were, and which roads were safest to ride on. The mapping took hours of time for each day. An app called Ride with GPS allowed me to share the routes with the other adults. We wanted each day to be about the same length in miles, and we looked for places to camp that were close to our bike route.

The mapped routes came to 347 miles, but the extra miles we rode in the campgrounds, going to points of interest and into camp made the total 360 miles.

Supplies and Support

We also wanted to make sure we had a support vehicle, so we spent hours mapping a driver’s route for each day. Adults took turns driving different days and being there for the cyclists’ mechanical, water and food needs. When the cyclists were on the streets, the driver followed with hazard lights and safety signs on the vehicle.

The Scouts picked a day to menu plan. We bought dry and shelf-stable food before leaving, and the driver for the day bought perishable food while the cyclists were riding.

In the support vehicle, each person had a legal-size crate for their clothes and other personal items. We allowed sleeping bags, pads and tents to be loose. We had two large coolers for ice and food, one jug with electrolyte drink and one jug for water.

Our local bicycle shop, Deerfield Cyclery, held a bicycle repair clinic and a flat-tire clinic and provided electrolyte products for our trek. Our vehicle had spare tubes, tools and pumps for any repairs to the bicycles.

We estimated the cost at $350 per person, and we stayed below budget.

Preparedness and Training

In total, we had five Scouts and five adults complete the trip.

We went on training rides for 16 weeks prior to the event, starting with 5 miles and adding 5 more miles each week. We asked that everyone try to get a few more rides in each week. On the final week of training, we rode 60 miles as a group with two additional 50-mile days on our own.

The Scouts who went were all student-athletes, so the conditioning was mostly there. They just needed the legs and saddle toughness.

The age of the Scouts helped—they were all 16 and had their driver’s licenses, which I think helps a cyclist understand the rules of the road and be better prepared for some stretches of highway. I think it would have been hard for younger youths.

Final Thoughts and Reflections

The Scouts all worked together at each campground to unload the van, set up camp, cook, clean and then repack every day.

I couldn’t be more proud of the Scouts for what they accomplished.

The Scouts who had been to Philmont said the bicycle trek was one of their best high adventures. Like Philmont, it was physically demanding and mentally challenging. Three of the Scouts earned Cycling merit badge, and two already had it.

We kept a journal for both youths and adults to write in daily. We hope to create a photo/story book for each person.

We’ll put together the maps for bicycles and support van along with the equipment list for other troops to use. (Reach out for those resources when they’re available.)

Day-by-Day Recap

Five of the six days were spectacular. The one cloudy and rainy day was saved by a museum visit. We had one mechanical problem and two flat tires, which were all taken care of.

Day 1: 54 miles. We left Zion Lutheran Church in Deerfield, our troop meeting place, and rode to Cliffside Campground in Racine, Wisconsin. Points of interest: SC Johnson Frank Lloyd Wright architectural buildings, the lakefront and the zoo.

Day 2: 66 miles. We rode a wonderful bike trail into Milwaukee. Our destination was Harrington State Beach Park in Belgium, Wisconsin. Point of interest: The beach.

Day 3: 64 miles. Expecting rain, we woke up early and rode through Sheboygan and into Manitowoc with our destination set for Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Points of interest: Wisconsin Maritime Museum (it rained cats and dogs while we were there for a few hours) and nearby Beerntsen’s Confectionary in Manitowoc.

Day 4: 65 miles. We rode to Green Bay to stop for lunch and fun. We revised the route due to heavy traffic on County R. Our destination was the Reforestation Camp in Brown County, Wisconsin. Points of interest: Bay Beach Amusement Park, and the zoo and adventure park in camp.

Day 5: 48 miles. We headed straight west to our next campground, Pine Grove, outside of Shawano, Wisconsin. Point of interest: the campground, with a swimming pool, miniature golf and petting zoo included in the reservation fee.

Day 6: 50 miles. Destination Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan. Everyone was excited to get to camp. We woke up early, got on our bicycles and arrived by 11:30 a.m.