Judd Beach
A riverside stroll in Brackendale
Origin of name: Henry, a.k.a. Harry Judd (1870-1952), and wife, Barbara Ann, a.k.a. Annie, were the second permanent non-native settlers in the Squamish area in 1890.
Trailhead: In Fisherman Park at the south end of Brennan Road.
Use: Hiking, biking and fishing.
Difficulty: Easy green.
Elevation: Eight to 12 metres.
Etiquette: Yield to others when entering and crossing another trail.
Feedback: [email protected].
This trail makes a 2.4 kilometre loop on the north bank of the Squamish River between Fisherman Park and Brackendale Creek.
It follows the edge of the river flow and the lower lip of the embankment dike.
This area is mostly on private land and maintenance of the trail is spotty because neither the District of Squamish nor the Trails Society has jurisdiction.
The landowner is justifiably worried about injury claims and closed off access in September 2013.
This has not stopped the public from walking along the river, but people need to be aware that they do so at their own risk as the landowner accepts no responsibility for injuries incurred on his property.
The keen participants of the unofficial bicycle pump site need to be aware of this legality. The wooden bridge is in need of repairs which the Trails Society hopes to complete this spring.
A second issue of concern is that this area has been classified as a Sensitive Habitat Area (SHA).
The riparian zone is used by spawning salmon and eagles eat their catch on the gravel beds. Children and dogs should not chase fish in the shallows nor interfere with eagles. Fast running waters and large birds present dangers to smaller critters. Dogs need to stay on leash in all SHAs.
The judd family legacy
Harry Judd pre-empted a section of land in Brackendale in 1890 located between present Government Road and Judd Slough.
He visited this area by canoe in 1889 and decided to homestead. With help from other young men, Rae, Robertson, Chrysler and Barr, his land was cleared and a sturdy cabin was built.
He met and married Barbara Ann Edwards in 1894 and they became the social centre of the hamlet.
They were a resourceful team who operated a dairy farm and ran the first stagecoach. Their original log cabin was sold to the Brennan family in 1906 and they moved into a new house at 1199 Judd Road, which is still in use today.
The Judd family is still represented in our town by one of their granddaughters, Ellen Grant. Their family piano was located, returned in 2014 and now resides at the Brackendale Art Gallery.
To pre-empt means to legally acquire something in advance. It was the method of getting Crown land for farming and homesteading that was in use from 1856 to 1971.
Land that was not fully nor accurately surveyed could be claimed and later, once improvements had been made, it could be bought at a discounted price. The BC Land Act of 1971 eliminated this easy method.
Emily Carr (1871-1945) had a long visit with her niece in Brackendale in the spring of 1926. Her watercolour sketches of the Rae farm and Cheekye, as locals still called Garibaldi Mountain, shows landscapes similar to the Judd lands.
Flood hazard
Floods are a permanent hazard in this area. A sinkhole that happened in May 2013 near the south end of Cottonwood Road was caused by undermining from the land side of the dike.
Tests confirmed that the dike core was sand and gravel and not the solid material that should be there.
Flood protection work is ongoing to the tune of about $2 million per year on repairs and upgrades to the 19 kilometres of dikes in our town.
The floodplain is a sponge that regulates and eases flooding by absorbing wate, but this is slowly being closed off by residential buildings and paved streets.
The Brackendale Owners and Tenants Association (BOATA) continually lobbies against actions that reduce the absorption ability of the floodplain.
Risk tolerance and flood mitigation drives our Integrated Flood Hazard Management Plan and disaster resilience is prominent.
Report any seepages or breaches to District of Squamish Operations at 604-815-6868 or after hours to 604-815 4040 will be most helpful.
