The historic city of Fernie bears with it several myths and tales that are spun into the very fabric of the history of this region. One of these is the Ghost Rider of Mount Hosmer. As the legend goes, William Fernie, who was the founder of the city, met an Indian Tribe on one of his visits to the region. He noticed a necklace of shiny black stones strung about the princess' necklace. He realized that these stones were coal and asked the chief as to where the coal had been sourced. The chief agreed to show him, but on the condition that William marry his daughter. William, however, failed to keep up to his end of the promise and enraged, the chief cursed the valley, saying that it would meet with flood, fire and famine.
It is believed that the ghost of the chief, who leads his daughter on horseback, still haunt Mount Hosmer, as a reminder of this betrayal. Locals have sighted the Ghost of Mount Hosmer, also known as the Ghost Rider in sunny summer evenings on a rock face high above the city. Mount Hosmer is also known as an upside down mountain as geologists have dated the top of the rock formation as the oldest and the youngest at the very bottom. The Mount, which stands at 1970 meters, can be seen from anywhere in Fernie. The trail which leads up the mount is one of the most beautiful in the region.
