Alumnus Bragiel takes a tour down the Mississippi

ECE alumnus Paul Bragiel (BSCompE ’99) can answer the question “how I spent my summer vacation” in a way that few others can. During the summer of 2011 he traveled in a canoe with his brothers down the entire length of the Mississippi River.

Bragiel and his brothers have always loved adventures. He said that they have traveled a lot together, including through Siberia. This trip was just another adventure. 

“We do a lot of this stuff,” Bragiel said. “It was somewhat planned, but not completely. We’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.”

Before the trip, Bragiel said the three brothers had a total of about four days of canoeing experience between them, so the trip was a dive in to the unknown. The plan was to start at the northernmost tip of the Mississippi and canoe the entire length down to the southern states.

Before the trip started, the brothers hired a videographer to document their journey. A video series of the trip is available online.

The trip took 61 days to complete. Bragiel said it was difficult to master the technique of canoeing, but as the trip transpired, they learned.

Bragiel and his brothers would wake up every morning between 4:30 and 6 a.m. to begin their daylong journey down the river. Before they hit civilization, they canoed through the more natural parts of the river, which the brothers named one of the best parts of the trip.

“The first week, you’re pretty much in wilderness,” Bragiel said. “You could touch [both sides of] the river with both your hands, go through cool forests, even see eagles and other animals.”

The other highlight was traveling through various places, including Sabula, Iowa, St. Louis, and Winona, Wisconsin. Bragiel said city residents were always excited to learn about the brothers’ adventure and would warm breakfasts or provide places to stay overnight.

The team needed various supplies to survive two months in the wilderness, including shorts, rain jackets, tents, cooking gear, water, and imperishable food. They also carried many cans of insect spray, tools to fix the boat, and medical supplies.

But the most interesting piece of equipment carried on the trip might have been their solar panels. These panels helped charge their camera’s batteries.

Bragiel and his brothers seldom stayed indoors just 10 out of the 61 nights they were on the river.  The rest of the trip, they found solid campground to pitch tents, make dinner and sleep.

“There were stretches that we went nine days without taking showers,” said Bragiel. “It was mostly roughing it.”

Bragiel said there were definitely some “hiccups” throughout the trip. In the middle of the journey, both Bragiel and one of his brothers sought medical attention for different illnesses. And without having a comfortable place to rest, these events made the trip much harder.

“You feel like quitting,” Bragiel said. “But, we are stubborn guys. We try to do everything to get it completed.” 

But once the trip was complete, Bragiel was happy with the outcome. “You do trips like this and you find out that America is really cool,” he said. “We have a lot of political disagreements, but you really see the good side of America.”