Field Expedition — August 2026
A modern record of going to look. The family set out to find Manchester and the E Clampus Vitus marker, and to photograph what survives of the coast’s mining days. This page reports the trip plainly — what was reached, what was documented, and what remained ambiguous.
The arrastra on Plaskett Creek
Walk up Plaskett Creek to the family arrastra site. Located and photographed the surviving remains: hand-hewn redwood beams with iron drift bolts still seated, heavy iron bearing castings and pipe collars from the drive works, and the round stone-lined basin, now sheltered under a protective plank platform beside the creek.
Outcome Success — remains located and photographed. Best candidate for a first verified GPS coordinate (not yet captured).
Stops
- Plaskett Creek arrastra photographed Photos in-repo under picvids/plaskett creek arrastra/ and data/photos/plaskett_creek_arrastra/. Capture GPS next visit.
Photo status in-repo (arrastra set present)
Documented in the story 'The Arrastra on Plaskett Creek'.
The search for Manchester
Attempted search for Manchester and the E Clampus Vitus marker via the ridge-road network. Reached Alder Camp and explored connected ridge roads; did not conclusively locate the monument. The trip exposed real ambiguity in online maps and directions and produced a valuable modern record of the road network.
Outcome Inconclusive for the monument; valuable road-network documentation. Honestly: the group reached Alder Camp and explored the ridge roads but did not confirm the marker's location.
Stops
- Alder Camp & San Martin Top junction sign photos pending intake PENDING photo intake.
- Alder Camp / Forest Service fire ring photos pending intake PENDING photo intake.
- Central Coast Ridge Road signs photos pending intake PENDING photo intake.
- South Coast Ridge Road signs photos pending intake PENDING photo intake.
- Nacimiento-Fergusson junction photos pending intake PENDING photo intake.
- Nickerson Road locked-gate sign photos pending intake PENDING photo intake.
Photo status PENDING — photos not yet dropped into the repo. Do NOT label unrelated ridge-road photos as Manchester. Bill: drop the expedition photos in picvids/<subject>/ for intake.
The Expedition page must state plainly that the marker was not conclusively located, and must not imply ridge-road photos depict Manchester.
The search for Manchester
Drove the South Coast Ridge Road and found, at the top, a Forest Service sign reading "McKerns Road / Locked Gate 2" — near the 2,780 ft summit where Nacimiento-Fergusson Road crosses the ridge. Photographed the sign and gate. This is the first field confirmation that the McKern name still stands on the land.
Outcome Success — sign located and photographed. Confirms the spelling as McKern (an earlier reading of the weathered sign as 'Akern' was wrong) and supplies the ridge-top anchor for the historic route down to the McKern homestead on the Nacimiento.
Stops
- McKerns Road, Locked Gate 2 photos pending intake Capture a GPS point at the gate on the next visit — it would give the first verified coordinate for anything McKern-related, since the McKern Place record has no position at all.
Photo status