Expedition Team: Dave Miller
Date: October 25, 2022
A lot of urban legends surround the Rock House, a popular hiking destination since the 1820’s. The cave is 25 feet high and 20 to 30 feet long. The length of the cave is about 200 feet and climbing through it I admit it is one beautiful cave. There are many names carved in the sandstone, several going back almost 200 years. In the early 1800’s robbers and bandits used the cave as a hideaway, which lead to the cave’s nickname “Robbers Roost”. In 1835 businessman F.F. Rempel built a 16-room hotel a short distance from the cave. The hotel had a ballroom, stable and post office. I sat at the shelter house just off the trail where the location of the hotel once was.
The urban legend associated with the hotel is the ghost of Mary, a former guest who was found dead in her room. Mary’s body vanished before the police arrived, so it is perceived that someone got away with murder. Rumer has it her ghost roamed the hotel and now roams the trail area and around the shelter house area among the wildflowers.
I did not hear nor see any traces of the ghost which was fine as I did not want to share my tomato/cucumber sandwich with anyone. I have not unearthed any newspaper articles on the hotel murder so this smells like an urban legend and not fact.
