By Zachary Wyatt, Scouting America Troop 29 scoutmaster

Scouting America Troop 29 has had a busy summer! In June, it once again ran a game tent for kids at the Yahara Waterfront Festival. Later that month, most of the troop spent a week at scout camp at the Ed Bryant Scout Reservation near Mauston. In addition to collectively earning over 75 merit badges, the scouts took first place in the campwide games for the second year in a row.

July is typically reserved for High Adventure, a longer and more challenging trip for the high school-age scouts. We have historically rotated between canoeing (Boundary Waters in 2024), hiking (Isle Royale in 2025) and cycling. The plan for this year was to bike from La Crosse to Milwaukee over five days, camping along the way. Unfortunately, the weekend start of our trip coincided with the peak of the wildfire smoke. We had to opt for the safety and health of our scouts and leaders and decided not to begin the trip as planned.

By midweek, conditions were back to normal and we were able to salvage the planned second half of the trip, which involved biking from Madison to Milwaukee. Scouts got a couple nights of camping and about 105 miles of biking. The final day was a ride from Ottawa Lake in Dousman to McKinley Park in downtown Milwaukee. It was fun to watch the scenery change from rural woodland to the big city skyline.

In August, we were back in the bingo tent at Orton Park Festival. This is a big fundraiser for the troop and we appreciate everyone who came out to support Troop 29’s scouts. September and the start of school marks the beginning of a new scouting year as well. This is when we hold elections for youth leadership positions and begin planning another year of adventures.

Troop 29 is a progressive, inclusive troop proud to serve Madison’s east side. We meet on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church. Youth in grades 6-12 who are interested in learning outdoor and leadership skills are welcome to join.

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