"Serra described going over the hills in Tijuana and saying he could see the sails of the ships in San Diego Harbor. The only place you could possibly do that . . . comes out at Goat Canyon or that immediate area," said Harry Crosby, a historian who wrote a book on Baja California's history.
Smuggler's Gulch started earning its nickname in the 1880s after the U.S. government established customs duties at the port of entry at San Ysidro a few miles east. Ranchers took to the hills, leading their herds of cattle, horses and sheep through the canyon.
Later, to avoid paying duties, people smuggled cigars and even Mexican-produced lace undergarments through the gulch.
In the 1980s, the canyon became a symbol of illegal immigration run amok as tens of thousands of immigrants funneled through the pass into California. It became a dangerous no-man's land, filled with bandits who raped and robbed immigrants and charged tolls for safe passage. The occasional sniper targeted Border Patrol agents. For many years, agents were not allowed to venture alone into the gulch, where their radios didn't work.
Rampant crime in the area prompted the formation of a daring San Diego police unit that was featured in the Joseph Wambaugh book "Lines and Shadows." They dressed as bedraggled illegal immigrants and pounced on bandits who tried to assault them.
Border Patrol Agent Jim Swanson, who was not part of the team but patrolled the area, remembers hiding in a bush and jumping on suspected robbers, one of whom turned out to be a Tijuana police lieutenant. "That whole area was very chaotic," he said.
Foot chases on the steep slopes caused numerous ankle and leg injuries for agents. One agent died in 2002 when her car toppled into the canyon.
In the mid-1990s, increased enforcement in the San Diego area pushed immigrant flows farther east, to other border areas. Smuggling has continued through the gulch, but at much-reduced levels.
Environmentalists for years stalled the $60-million plan to double-fence the three miles of border canyons and mesas. They pushed for projects that would improve border enforcement without harming the environment. In 2004, the California Coastal Commission refused to grant permits to complete the fence, saying the harm to sensitive habitats outweighed the security benefits.
