Brooke Hornbeck’s first year raft guiding was roughly seven years ago, when 15-year-old Hornbeck welcomed a group of Girl Scouts onto her raft.
At the time, Hornbeck was the only female guide at her company in the Adirondacks of New York state. What was a day of laughter, stoke and fun on the water turned into a meaningful experience for the new raft guide: the notion that women deserve to be celebrated outdoors.
A few weeks after Hornbeck took the middle school girls out on her raft, she received a stack of letters in the mail, written ramblings of the joy they had on the water and their admiration for her trade. Some claimed they now wanted to guide themselves when they grew up. It was empowering, she reflected.
“Feminine energy and softness can also be strengths,” Hornbeck says. “Teaching younger girls, like the Girl Scouts, to be who they are in their femininity while embracing their strength at the same time… bringing those two things together has been really cool.”
Seven years later, Hornbeck — nicknamed “Minnow” — is still showing people the waves, rapids and spirit of American waters in a way that she hopes empowers her guests.
When Hornbeck first arrived in West Glacier, she was the second “Brooke” guide in the group. The first Brooke boasted a tall stature; the guides nicknamed her trout. When Hornbeck came around, minnow was an easy comparison nickname. Years later, it continues to stick.
She often received mail addressed to Minnow, business emails referring to Minnow, and more. It's a testament to the personality and livelihood one can have on the water.
Out east, Hornbeck grew up rafting with her family and friends. She guided every summer she could throughout high school, falling in love with the sport.
“The biggest thing that drew me in was that it made me feel fully present,” she says. “I think I dealt with a lot of getting caught up in my own head, but when you’re rafting you have to be right there.”
After attending the University of Vermont, Hornbeck knew she wanted to continue guiding. She googled waters out West and quickly stumbled across Glacier National Park. She applied to Glacier Raft Company, got the job, and moved out West without knowing a single person.
While an affinity for the ever clear and blue waters of Montana keeps bringing Hornbeck back, so does the community of Glacier Raft Company guides and the greater West Glacier ecosystem. Coming from a company where she was the only female raft guide, Glacier Raft Company has exposed Hornbeck to more comradery.
Last year, Hornbeck attended the “Ladies Upper” trip, an annual occurrence through Glacier Raft Company. Together, a group of female raft guides hikes seven miles into the wilderness to begin a multiday raft trip on the upper middle fork of the Flathead River. It was magical, Hornbeck said.
Over time, Hornbeck channeled that magic into her daily life on the water. Known as the girl with the glitter, it’s common to see Hornbeck’s entire raft — men and women alike — with glitter on their cheeks. Nowadays, if Hornbeck is on the water, her glitter is close by.
“I’m kind of superstitious about it,” she laughs.
Glitter has become a popular commodity in outdoor recreation. Brands like Adorn, Hornbeck’s personal favorite, use biodegradable materials in order to make the glitter safer for the environment. In a place like the Flathead Valley, one will likely see glitter adorning the faces of many people on the mountains, on the trails and on the slopes.
It’s just one aspect of femininity that makes rafting fun, she said, a concept that Hornbeck at 15 would have been ecstatic about. Looking back now, there is a lot that 15-year-old Hornbeck would be proud of, she says.
“If I could tell my younger self anything, it would be to be louder,” Hornbeck says. “Not just verbally. I think I shrunk myself to fit in because I was intimidated… I didn’t feel like I could speak because I didn’t know what the other employees knew. But I am so loud now as a person. Once you finally open up, others open up too.”
Of all the rivers she’s floated — including a recent month-long trip in the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River — the Flathead is easily her favorite. It’s pristine in nature, brings life to so many important fisheries and provides memories that are worth a lifetime. She’s had life altering conversations on the boat, as well as some of the funniest moments she can remember.
Hornbeck is currently in Utah for the winter, working in crime scene investigations and also part time at a ski resort. But, like every year so far, her return to Montana in mid-May brings excitement.
Of all the things she could look forward to — massive peaks, clear waters, a staff of coworkers that has turned into family — Hornbeck said that this year, she hopes to find more glitter colors. And, of course, plenty more people who will wear it proudly.
The biggest thing that drew me in was that it made me feel fully present... When you’re rafting you have to be right there.
If I could tell my younger self anything, it would be to be louder...Once you finally open up, others open up too.