The Solitude
The majority of the fishing pressure on the Babine occurs in the upper river on the eight miles of river beneath the weir. There are two great lodges in this reach as well as public walk-in and boat put-in access. The Silver Hilton's waters are more than 20 miles downstream, far beyond the end of the road and below several significant rapids that the jetboaters wisely avoid. During the height of the season, there may be an occasional group of adventuresome campers floating the river, but, in large, guests at the Hilton never see another party of anglers. Additionally, the guests at the Silver Hilton's Main Camp have access to over 20 miles of wilderness steelhead water, as well as countless smaller runs and productive pockets. The fishing is lightly guided in that each guide takes four anglers in their boat each day. All the guests have radios, enabling the guides to drop one or two guests at their own runs to fish in true solitude. If a guest needs a hand landing big one, it just takes a quick call, and if the guide is not in sight, they will be near, and you will hear the engine fire up as they head your way.
The Staff and Lodge
The Silver Hilton is actually two lodges. Main Camp is the lower lodge that takes eight guests per week. It has a wonderful common space with a crackling stone fireplace, an open bar, comfy couches, bear skin rugs, a long dining table, and an impressive collection of original art and antique tackle. Guests share spacious, well-appointed double occupancy cabins, and they spend two days fishing each of the three beats. Roughly eight miles upstream of Main Camp is the Triple Header Camp. Triple Header is the ultimate wilderness retreat that takes four guests per week. Each guest gets a single room, and there are two shared bathrooms. Triple Header has an awesome fire circle overlooking their huge home pool that has produced countless trophy fish over the years. Triple Header guests fish four days on the upper beat and two days on the middle beat.
The Hilton is a place that most guests return to year after year. Some have made more than 30 visits. Likewise, their staff tend to return year after year. The manager, Brian Schneider, has done 27 seasons, his head guide, "Bazil," has done 28 seasons, and "Beano" has done 20 seasons. To say they know the waters is an understatement! Their charming hostess, Daniel, has also done 20 seasons. Simply put, whether you are a guest or an employee, it is the type of place you want desperately to return to.
For me, the distillation of the Hilton's magic is when the guide pulls the jetboat in beneath a run, maps it out for me, drops me off, fires up the boat, and heads off around the bend. Then it's just me walking towards the head of a proven run on one of the world's greatest wild steelhead rivers. As I step into the head, unhook my fly, flop it out, and begin to pull a few strips of line from my reel, I often find myself overwhelmed and shaking slightly with excitement. The silence, the solitude, the raw wildness, and the oily slick beneath me, where I suspect my line will be drawn tight by a creature of unspeakable beauty, is collectively, almost too much. I force myself to look up from the water, to see the beauty surrounding me, and take a deep breath of gratitude, acknowledging that such an experience can still be found.
